An End and A Beginning
by okmangeez
Summary: Death wasn't the end, it was only the beginning. A Self-Insert into Gohan/Gohan Grows a Backbone Story.
1. Awakening

An End and A Beginning

When he heard the sharp crack of gunfire, he knew he was dead.

He knew that he would just be a name among thousands of names that died in the war. He wasn't a general. He wasn't a well-known figure. He wanted to consider himself as a "good guy," but even that was questionable. After all, the people he faced certainly didn't consider him "good."

As his body fell backward into the dirt, blood streaming out of his chest, his life flashed before his eyes. From the day of his birth to his high school graduation, then to his forced enlistment. He had so many things he wanted to do in life, people he wanted to help and protect. Even with his dying breath, he silently apologized to the soldiers he had bled and fought with for his death and muttered, "Fiat justitia ruat caelum." It was his personal life motto, a motto that he wanted to carry to the legal system and to his death.

Never did he expect death would come _this_ quickly.

Despite the screams and shouts from his comrades, he slowly closed his eyes. He knew that death was awaiting him. And he was willing to embrace it.

* * *

It is said that within a handful of sand, there are ten thousands universes.

In one of these universes, in that universe's Earth, a certain boy was unconscious, not knowing that his own father had been killed due to his inaction and weakness. Neither was the boy aware that some of the strongest beings in the galaxy was heading towards his planet, bent on destroying his world and seizing incredible power. The boy had power, immense power. A power that rivaled his father's and the invaders. Yet he was young and innocent, he could not _possibly_ control or imagine the power he harnessed. His father's "friend" waited for him to awaken to train him, but without the will or the mentality, training could only do so much.

This state of affairs had not gone unnoticed. A being, greater than all mortals and gods, had taken note. Billions of lives were at risk. And so, it determined it would act.

And so it was that the soul of a young dying man, humble and just, from one Earth was brought into the body of a young boy of another Earth.

It is also said that in each of the ten thousand universes in a handful of sand, there are ten thousand Buddhas. Each with the same overflowing compassion for humanity.

* * *

He woke up as he was beginning to suffocate.

When he tried to inhale, all he managed to swallow was cold water. The air in his lungs quickly disappeared as water began to flood into his body. Realizing his mistake, he closed his mouth shut and looked around.

 _Is this my punishment in hell? Suffocating for eternity? Just what did I do to deserve this punishment?_

This thought quickly disappeared as he saw that light shined through the top. With air leaving his body and his strength slipping, he began to propel himself towards the surface, his right hand desperately reaching towards whatever was creating the light.

His head popped through the surface, his mouth instinctively gasping for air. Only then did he realize that he was taller than the depth of the water, his torso and head being completely above the surface.

"We have to talk. Get out of the water."

He turned to the source of the voice, a tall and green alien looking creature with a turban and cape. He stared at the creature for a few moments before speaking. "Are you some sort of devil?"

The green creature looked visibly annoyed as he slowly approached him. "I am Piccolo and I am _not_ a devil."

"Where am I then? I thought that I would be in heaven or hell by now..." He hastily replied.

Piccolo looked at him with a strange look. "It is your father that is in the After Life. He sacrificed himself to save you from your kidnapper."

"Is this some sort of joke? My father died years ago from a car accident!"

"Listen to me, brat," Piccolo said as he lifted him up into the air, "Your father, Goku, died a few hours ago saving your life. Now you _will_ learn how to fight in order to defeat the kidnapper's allies. Otherwise, we may _all_ die!"

As he was tossed onto the ground, he realized that he was much, _much_ shorter than the green creature in front of him. The ground looked closer to him as he stood up and he slowly inspected his body. He scampered towards the pond he woke up in and looked at his own reflection.

He was a mere little boy, around four or five years of age. As he took in his new reflection, his mind was screaming. _Something_ had happened. He wasn't dead, nor was he in his _real_ body. He was now a little boy, with his father apparently dead. And now a green creature wanted to train him to fight to fight the same people that killed his father.

 _Just when I thought I had fought in enough battles in one lifetime._

His hands began to clench and unclench on its own. Despite being a toddler, he felt incredible strength flowing through his body. A strength that he had never experienced even in his old body. He opened the palm of his right hand and felt a sudden rush in his arm. Without hesitation, he pulsed his hand and a ball of light came out the hand, flying into a small mountain and making it crumble into pieces.

For a moment, he looked at his hand in wonder and the green alien did the same.

 _Perhaps I was brought here to do something... A second chance._ _My battles aren't over yet._

He calmly turned towards the stunned Piccolo. "What is my name?"

"What?" The green creature seemed confused by the question and stunned by his actions.

" _My name_. I forgot my name."

Piccolo stared him down. "Are you saying you _forgot_ your own name?"

He stared right back at his supposed "mentor."I was hit in the head pretty hard. I don't remember much."

It was a lie, but a necessary one. It would be strange to explain to the man (an alien man?) that he was actually 19 years old.

There was a long pause before Piccolo answered. "Gohan. Son Gohan. Your father is Son Goku and your mother is Chi-Chi. And you _will_ be one of the saviors of Earth."

"Gohan" smiled. "Then teach me... _sensei_."

His old self was gone. He was no longer Hiroyoshi Osato, a student in the United States. He was Son Gohan, the future protector of the world.


	2. Training

An End and A Beginning

"So what am I supposed to be first, _sensei_?" Gohan asked, his eyes hardening as he prepared for anything.

Piccolo stared down the young boy. He had prepared to throw the boy into the wilderness by himself for months to toughen him up mentally and physically. Yet, the young boy seemed different than before. "Your first task is to survive out here for three months. This area is filled with dangerous creatures and has little vegetation. The nearest village is thousands of miles away and this place is completely surrounded by desert, so there is no escape. You will learn to use your strength and live. Remember, you will be one of the saviors of Earth. You _must_ learn how to draw out your potential."

Instead of whining and complaining like Piccolo expected, the half-Saiyan merely nodded. "Simple enough."

" _If_ you manage to survive, I will personally train you for nine months before those Saiyans arrive. We barely manage to defeat your uncle, your kidnapper. Now, the two Saiyans heading to Earth are much more powerful in strength and power. If we do not manage to stop them, they will stop at nothing to destroy this planet. You may be the key to our victory, so you need proper training." The Namek crossed his arms as he explained the situation to him.

"Then why don't we train from the very start?" Gohan wondered out loud, looking up at the large alien in front of him. "12 months of training is better than 9 months, right?"

The green creature glowered at him. "Before I train you, you must be mentally _and_ physically prepared. You certainly seem mentally prepared, which is a surprise, but you are nowhere _near_ physically prepared. Which is why you will survive out here and build your strength."

With one of his finger pointed at the ground, Piccolo materialized a uniform for the _chibi_ on the ground. It was an orange _gi_ with the letter _ma_ , which meant demon, on the back. The Namek turned to his "student" and tossed the clothes to him. Gohan caught it and was instantly taken back by the weight of the _gi_. "These will be your training clothes. They have added weights to them to improve your training and will stop any minor attacks. That is all I will give you to train and survive out here. I will come back in 3 months to check on your progress."

As Piccolo began to fly away, Gohan let out a small shout. "Wait!"

Piccolo ignored him and continued to fly away.

"Can you at least remove my tail?"

The green creature heard the loud voice and sighed. With an annoyed look on his face, he came down next to Gohan. "Why?"

"I don't feel like it'll be useful when I'm fighting. Someone can easily grab onto my tail and use it against me." Gohan replied. _I just hate the idea of having a tail. It's so... weird._

The Namek looked at the boy with curiosity. "Turn around."

Gohan followed his orders and turned his back to the green alien. Piccolo grabbed the tail and pulled it out cleanly with brute force. The young boy wanted to scream as an intense pain filled up his bottom but merely winced in pain as Piccolo held up the tail in his hand. "There, are you _satisfied_?"

"Thank you, _sensei,_ " Gohan said with a small bow. "Also, can you increase the weights of the shirt? I feel like I can speed up my training if I had a heavier load on me at all times."

Piccolo seemed surprised at this request and gave out a small smile that quickly retreated before the young boy can see. _The boy is determined... I hope this is a good sign._ With another point of the finger, the weight load on the shirt increased, making Gohan nearly drop his uniform.

"I have changed your _gi_ so that the weight load will increase over time. As you get stronger, the weight of the _gi_ will become heavier." The green creature stated. "I will come back in 3 months to _inspect_ your progress."

And with that, the Namek flew away into the sky. Gohan immediately changed into his new uniform and looked around. _Survival training. That alien is probably watching me from a distance... Time to survive and train_ _then_.

He immediately began to seek for the three most important things he would need out in the wilderness: water, food, and shelter. _Piccolo mentioned that some dangerous creatures were in the area, that might be my source of food. There's a pond right next to me, so water isn't a problem. As for shelter... I'll just find a cave or build a temporary one out of rocks._

Gohan grinned. He would train hard and prove to the alien that he was ready to be trained.

* * *

 **A month later...**

The sun was barely over the horizon, yet a young boy was already hard at work. His punches and kicks created powerful aftershocks as the air literally hummed in energy around him. He had been practicing for hours, yet he showed no sign of exhaustion as he continued his daily routine of training. His attacks were well coordinated and seemed as if he was following a manual, with his punches and kicks connecting smoothly.

On the first day in the wilderness, Gohan was lucky enough to find a small cave as a shelter. It was the size of a small room, but it was big enough for him and a small fire pit to light up a fire when he was sleeping. The first few nights were bitterly cold and Gohan accidentally used his explosive energy to create a fire. He had tried, without much success, to re-create the energy that he used to destroy the mountain before. Ironically, starting the fire on accident was when he began to learn to control the _ki_ within him and to use it when needed.

Every day, he trained intensely, pushing himself to his physical limits. Gohan woke up early before the crack of dawn and stretched to prepare himself for the day. After he finished stretching, he continued on to practice _katas_. In his previous life, he had been a karate black belt and brought his fighting techniques to good use. The _katas_ solidified his fighting form and allowed him to connect different moves without difficulties. After practicing _katas_ for two hours, he ran miles daily, switching back and forth between jogging and sprinting for five hours. Afterward, Gohan would take a small break to give his body some rest, often meditating in silence for an hour to calm his mind. The training of his body was crucial, but Gohan knew that the spirit was just as important as the body. Meditation actually helped him focus and allowed him to _feel_ the energy moving through him, like a river rushing down a mountain. Immediately after meditating, Gohan focused on building up his strength through various exercises: pushups, situps, bench press with some rocks and a branch, different exercises with makeshift dumbells, squats, and deadlifts. He implemented the "Pull, Push, Leg" workout routine, doing pull, push, and leg exercises all on different days to allow his muscles to build up and rest. After the workouts, he would practice his _ki_ control, using the energy within him at will to destroy entire boulders. Between all of his training, he managed to do a bit of studying as well. He ran through basic information on biology, chemistry, English, and everything else in his head daily. It helped him clear his head and also to remember things better. He also

This daily routine was intense and fast paced. There was barely any time to eat and rest for Gohan. He still ate three meals a day, as he knew that food was essential in building up his body. Thankfully, plenty of animals were within the vicinity and he hunted them down with ruthless efficiency. He slaughtered large scorpions, dinosaurs, wild boars, and even a bear. He had no way to preserve the meat, so he cooked the creatures he killed over a fire and dried the meat to lengthen the life span. Gohan also fished with a makeshift net, as there was a small lake nearby that had a decent amount of fish. As for vegetables and fruits, there was a forest that was a good distance away from him that he utilized to collect berries, wild herbs, and nuts. Despite aiming to be a lawyer in his previous life, "Gohan" had plenty of experience working out and maintaining a balanced diet. The situation was very different in this life, but it was just a more extreme version of his previous experiences.

" _Kiai!_ " Gohan shouted as he shifted his feet and went into a front leaning stance. He let out a series of quick punches and then immediately moved his arms to block his imaginary opponent's attacks. He had moved onto the _Ananku,_ a form that was both offensive and defensive, that focused his strength at the center to block attacks from both sides and created openings to attack.

He turned around to face another imaginary attacker, punching straight into the chest of his open opponent. Gohan's punch created a huge rush of wind that slammed into a nearby mountain, creating a large crater into the side of said mountain. He paused for a moment and looked at his own fist.

 _I have an insane amount of power. This is unreal. It's almost as if I'm Superman..._

Gohan sighed and looked at the sun that was now fully in the sky. He guessed that it was around seven in the morning and moved back towards his cave. Grabbing some dinosaur meat, some berries, and a small bowl he used to drink water out from, he enjoyed a relatively enjoyable breakfast. The dinosaur meat was a bit tough, but it tasted similar to beef, so he didn't mind. As he chewed he watched a flock of birds fly over his head, freely exploring the endless blue sky.

"Flying," Gohan muttered. "That alien could fly too... Is it possible that I can also fly?"

Every time he ran, he would also practice jumping. He was quite surprised to find out that he can jump large distances easily. It was terrifying at first, as he launched himself into a good fifty feet in the air and barely managed to land on his feet, but as time went on, he easily leaped hundreds of feet in the air and came back down.

After finishing his breakfast, Gohan decided to put an effort into flying. He had no idea if he could do it, but something screamed in the back of his mind that he _could_ do it. He stepped out into the open and began to run as fast he can, gaining momentum, and then launched himself into the air.

He immediately shot off the ground and rocketed into the air. While he was in the air, he attempted to transfer the energy within him into his feet, as if there was a cushion to support him. His body obeyed his command and energy began to rush below his feet. Gohan could've sworn that he felt himself float in the air for a moment, but he began to streak towards the ground instead of staying up in the air. He landed on his feet and ran at top speed once again.

 _Not even Superman got it on his first try_. Gohan thought, encouraging himself. _He kept on launching himself into the air and jumping before he finally managed to learn accidentally._

As he jumped once again and failed, but Gohan was pleased to discover that he had stayed in the air for just a second before coming back down. Even as he came down, he felt his body going down slower than before.

 _One more time_. Gohan ran into the open distance again, running at full speed then leaping into the air. He rose high enough to almost touch the clouds with the ground nearly a thousand feet below him. He concentrated all his focus onto his feet, willing his _ki_ to change and support his weight in the air. His body began to sink towards the ground, but he closed his eyes and focused on his goal. He could feel himself falling further and further before finally, he felt his body stopping. Gohan slowly opened his eyes and looked down.

He wasn't falling. Instead, he was floating comfortably in the air, though he could feel himself falling towards the ground at a slow pace.

Despite this, he urged his body forward, stretching his arms forward and diverting any energy he had into his feet. Gohan felt himself propelling forward and was surprised when he began to move in the direction he desired.

After several seconds of being in control, he slowly came down to the ground. He had only flown for a minute, but his _ki_ was exhausted and he felt thoroughly drained.

 _This isn't good. If I use flight during combat, I'll definitely exhaust my energy rapidly for sure. I definitely need more practice... And if I use flight in battle, it'll definitely change my fighting style. I need to practice fighting in the air and on the ground._

Gohan's head was rushing with a million thoughts, but he turned his head upwards and grinned. He still had a long way to go, but he was getting stronger.

And a stranger watching over him silently agreed.

* * *

When Gohan awakened, he was no longer in the cave he called home. Instead, he was surrounded by nothingness. The ground was completely flat and smooth and there was nothing on the horizon for miles around.

"I see you have awakened." A very deep voice boomed.

Gohan looked up and saw a mysterious being dressed in a black robe and mask floating in the air. "Who are you and _where_ am I?"

The being chuckled. "You are in the realm beyond even the After Life and the Spirit Realm. To simply put, you are at a place beyond even heaven itself."

 _That_ caught Gohan's interest. "A place beyond heaven?"

"Precisely, and as for who I am, call me _H_ _ikari_ _._ "

 _Hikari. Is he some sort of God?_ Gohan thought as he inspected the stranger above him.

As if he could read his mind, the being laughed. "Good guess, but no. I am not God. I am above God. But I just prefer the name _Hikari_ "

Gohan nearly choked on his own spit. "A being _above_ God?"

"If God created the world, then who created him? I did. Who brought you to a different world as you were dying? I did." " _Kami_ " stated, as if his actions were of no importance.

"Why did you save me then? What is my purpose?" "Gohan" asked the divine being.

The being shrugged. "You did not deserve to die. No matter what Fate or God said, you are one being that _deserves_ to live. You have a strong sense of justice and helping the weak. You are selfless but have enough pride to stand up for yourself. You don't help people for fame or glory, but help people because _it is the right thing to do_. There have been humans like you that have existed before, but they managed to live full lives and bring about great changes. You, on the other hand, didn't. That is why I gave you that chance, you are the hero that this world needs."

A small smile spread across Gohan's face as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Thank you, Hikari."

"It _is_ the truth. There is no reason to be modest." Hikari simply stated. "Before I continue, I must do something."

Hikari waved his hand over Gohan. Suddenly, "Gohan" felt himself separating into two and cried out in pain as his vision darkened from the pain. When his vision cleared, there was a young boy next to him that looked like the body he occupied. Confused, Hiroyoshi looked at his hands and felt his face. "I'm myself again."

The young boy looked up at the older one and grinned. "Hi, Hiroyoshi!"

"Uh... Hello." Hiroyoshi said though he wasn't very enthusiastic. _How can the boy be so happy and easygoing when I basically took away his life?_

"You didn't. The real Gohan lives within you. Think of him as a companion and a friend that is always with you." Hikari replied. "I will teach you a technique that will allow you to clone yourself. When you clone yourself, Gohan will be able to take control of the clone's body. Usually, creating a clone of yourself will cut your strength, speed, and energy by half and transfer it to the clone. However, the clone you make will be of equal strength of the original."

As he spoke, Hikari placed his right index finger on Hiroyoshi's forehead, a small spark flying off the young man. Hiroyoshi's eyes glazed over for a second before refocusing on the being in front of him. "It seems like you taught me other techniques too."

"Yes. I've also taught you how to do some basic fighting techniques that will be useful for your future battles. In addition to this, I have merged the power and energy of your body with Gohan's body. Your old body's strength wasn't massive, but your spiritual energy was certainly plentiful and it will definitely help you on your journey."

Hiroyoshi nodded. "I can't thank you enough, Hikari."

"Hey, Hiro _niisan_!" Little Gohan bounced around the taller human.

"Yes, Gohan?"

Gohan gave the older boy a glowing smile. "Beat up the bad guys! Their friend killed my dad! You better not lose to them!"

The young man let out a small chuckle and ruffled the boy's hair. "You can join me in the fight if you can possess a clone. We'll beat them up together."

"You got it, Hiro _niisan_!" Gohan hugged Hiro's leg. "We'll beat them up easily with the two of us!"

Hikari laughed, breaking the conversation between the two mortals. "It was _definitely_ the right choice to bring you to the other world. Now, I will send you back to the mortal realm. Train well and continue being yourself. Remember, _you_ are the future savior of the world and I will be always watching and helping you."

* * *

Hiroyoshi woke up, half expecting himself to wake up in his room on his Earth. Instead, he came face to face with a rocky ceiling.

He was in his home, his cave.

A part of him wanted to go back. He wanted to see his family and friends again. Yet, he knew he had a duty to carry out in this world. A duty entrusted to him by the creator of the universe and God. He couldn't go back.

His eyes drifted to his hands. They were soft, baby hands instead of the rough and broken hands he was used to seeing. He was Gohan once again.

"Gohan" stepped outside and closed his eyes. The sky was still dark as the sun had not risen yet. He focused on his inner energy and concentrated on splitting apart. There were no reactions for a few moments, but as he willed himself further, he felt his body splitting apart once again. When he turned to his left, he saw a clone of himself next to him.

"Hiroyoshi _niisan_!" The clone cried as he hugged the original furiously.

"Good to see you again, Gohan." The Gohan looking Hiroyoshi said as he hugged his clone back. "Now let's get to training, shall we?"

The real Gohan nodded and went into a fighting pose. "I know everything you know also, so don't hold back, Hiro _niisan_!"

Gohan rushed towards the clone Gohan and aimed a punch at the clone's face. The clone easily dodged the attack and move aggressively towards Gohan, attacking the "original" by attempting to sweep his legs and grappling his neck. Gohan managed to dodge the clone's attacks and slowly took up his usual fighting stance. _Seiunchin_ _, an all out aggressive form that throws the enemy off balance and dominates the enemy with force. Guess I'll have to counter it then._

Slipping into a S _uparimpei_ stance, Gohan grabbed the clone's arm when he attempted to close in for a body throw and punched the clone's chest. As the clone staggered backward, Gohan ran forward and kicked the clone squarely in the face. However, the clone grabbed Gohan's leg and smiled.

 _He saw through my attack! I guess that makes sense since he knows all my moves..._

Gohan suddenly found himself being thrown around by the clone and was thrown into the side of a mountain. He groaned as he shook his head and looked at the boy coming towards him.

"You'll have to try harder in order to beat me." Gohan managed to say, his head still ringing from creating a hole in the mountain.

The clone/real Gohan powered up _ki_ into his hand. "Then let's try harder, Hiro!"

Gohan managed to deflect the energy attack with an energy attack of his own. He powered up _ki_ into his fists and began to engage in close combat with the clone. Similarly, the clone also directed his energy to his fist and began to counter Gohan's every move. The air shook as their arms, hands, and legs clashed with one another.

Finally, Gohan managed to create an opening by slamming his fist into the arm of the clone, making the clone drop his defensive stance. With everything he had, Gohan punched the clone in the chest and released an intense ball of energy. The clone cried out in pain as he was thrown backward.

Instead of getting up and continuing the fight, the clone remained on the ground and cried. " _OWW!_ Hiro _niisan_ that actually hurt!"

Hiro in Gohan's body helped the real Gohan up. "Sorry, Gohan. You did say to go all out and I need to train to become stronger."

"It's okay Hiro _niisan_!" The clone said with a smile. "You've definitely gotten stronger! You'll beat those bad guys easily!"

"I know." Gohan smiled back, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. _It's definitely not enough. I need to train harder..._

* * *

 **A month after meeting Hikari...**

Gohan shot through the sky like a bullet fired from a gun. A month before, he struggled to just stay afloat in the air, but that was a month ago. Now, he was zooming through the sky while he fired bursts of energy at targets he had laid out before, destroying entire boulders with small balls of energy. Below him, clone Gohan was firing energy blasts at him to knock him out of the sky. Gohan easily dodged all of them with stunning speed as he managed to destroy his targets _and_ dodge enemy attacks at the same time.

The area was littered with craters, destroyed boulders and mountains, and plenty of trenches made by Gohan's training. It was as if a huge battle had occurred in the wilderness, but the destruction was only caused by a single boy and his clone partner. The power of that one boy was shocking, to say the least.

Real Gohan grinned as Gohan destroyed the last target and landed softly next to the clone. "Hiro _niisan_ , you finished that in twenty seconds! Yesterday you finished it in 25 seconds! You're definitely getting better!"

Letting out a small laugh, Gohan patted the clone's head. "Your counting probably changes every time you time me, but thanks again, Gohan."

Still smiling, the clone hugged Gohan. "My time is up for today, _niisan_. Good luck on your training!"

The clone's body merged with the original's as the two became one again. Gohan sat down and began to meditate. He had already finished his physical exercises a few hours before and now he concentrated on calming his mind and spirit.

He was stronger, much stronger than before. His rigorous physical training had toned his body muscles. His muscles were no longer weak and soft, but hardened and powerful to match his fighting spirit. Gohan also mastered his _ki_ control, which allowed him to control the size and power of his energy bursts. He could also fight in midair without difficulty and power up his attacks by bringing for an aura of energy.

However, he knew that he still needed further training. Despite his advances, he _knew_ that his future enemies would be just as powerful, if not more powerful than he was. He couldn't afford to slack off, not at this point.

As he meditated, Gohan could feel the weight of his training _gi_ grow heavier. He couldn't tell how much the _gi_ weighed exactly, but he could guess that it weighed at least a ton. After all, his physical training increased his strength tremendously and the _gi_ had to grow heavier in order to accommodate to his growth. It always bothered him at first, but he always got used to the new weighted _gi_ after a few days and then the weight of the _gi_ increased.

The sudden change of the _gi_ broke his concentration for a moment, but Gohan's eyes remained closed as he settled down. Through his meditation, he could feel the energy from nature being absorbed into him. He needed the energy as he had used up his entire reserve while training with clone Gohan. While meditating, he usually began to think about his previous life, the life he had left behind.

Pictures of his parents and friends flashed back to him and important moments of his life replayed in his head. Every day he watched his memories in order to remember them, but with each passing day, the pictures grew a bit fuzzier. He was definitely forgetting the names and faces of people he once knew, even people that had been prominent in his life. He _did_ practice drawing the faces of people he remembered, but he wasn't a very talented artist and practicing drawing was much more difficult than lifting weights or flying. At least to _him_ , it was.

His past memories were not all warm and fuzzy. Occasionally, his mind dived into a darker piece of his past, usually the later part of his life where he was forced away from his family and home into the unknown. He became something he never expected to be: a soldier. Gohan always sought to bring about change and justice peacefully, but instead, he was thrown into a war he didn't believe him in order to "protect his country."

Today was one of those days and his mind replayed the horrors he wanted to forget.

* * *

 _An explosion rocked him off his feet as he stumbled to the ground and dropped his rifle._

 _"Kid!" His sergeant yelled at him as he pulled Hiroyoshi up. "Now is not the time to nap! If you want to live, be quick on your feet!"_

 _The Japanese-American boy gave a small nod to his leader, but he was still unbalanced from the explosion. The sergeant moved away to help his soldiers fire back at the enemy._

 _War was hell. There were dead bodies littered all over the ground and various craters and holes were everywhere on the ground. Buildings and people alike were crumbling around him as enemy artillery and gun fire began to pick up._

 _It was his third battle in the wretched desert. The war had begun just a year ago, right when he was forcefully drafted into the military because the multitude of enemies his country faced in the war. Instead of going to UC Berkeley to study and become a lawyer, he was now "defending" the very freedom and liberty his country held dear. Even so, he never wanted to participate in the war. His family had already lost many members in previous wars and had strictly prohibited anyone in their lineage from entering the military. But they were forced to watch as he was called to the military to fight._

 _Several bullets whizzed past him and Hiroyoshi's train of thought crashed as he dived for cover. He held out his rifle and began to fire towards the direction of the enemy. He didn't want to kill anyone, not even if they were firing back at him. It wasn't right that he took a person's life for a cause he didn't believe in himself._

 _Another explosion pulled him further towards the ground as shrapnel flew around the area. He winced as he saw one of his comrades scream in pain due to his leg being blown off._ _"Enemy mine," Hiroyoshi mumbled as he turned away from the sight. He was used to the sight, but it sickened him every time._

 _One of his close friends, a white American by the name of Sam Johnson, dived into cover near him. "One hell of a battle, eh, Hiro?"_

 _Hiroyoshi had befriended Sam when he joined the military. Like himself, Sam was forced to join the army after his parents pressured him to join. Sam's family also had a history of male members serving in the military and apparently, his father had wanted Sam to join and serve. Sam hated serving in the military, but he wasn't afraid to shoot back and kill to save himself._

 _"I'm never going to get used to this." Hiroyoshi weakly said as he fired a few more rounds of his rifle at the enemy. "I just wished the war ended already."_

 _"Same here," Sam replied. Both of them were forced to move positions when another artillery round landed very close to them. "If I die, I want to die peacefully in a retirement home. Not some desert in the middle of nowhere."_

 _The Asian boy admired Sam, who managed to stay cool even in the face of death. He was able to crack jokes and make his comrades laugh even in the midst of battle._

 _Even in the heat of battle, Hiroyoshi let out a small laugh at Sam's remark. But it quickly died in his throat when Sam pushed him out of the way._

 _Hiroyoshi was thrown back onto the ground several feet away as Sam dived onto a rolling object that was thrown towards them. The object exploded under Sam and the soldier shook violently._

 _"No. No no no!" Hiroyoshi yelled as he dropped his rifle and ran towards Sam's corpse. He couldn't do anything as his friend had already died._

* * *

Gohan's eyes snapped open as he surveyed his surrounding. The ravished landscape was eerie reminiscent of his unforgettable past. It was strange to think that he would become a "soldier" and fighter in this world. He hated using violence unless it was absolutely necessary, but it was a necessity now in order to protect the world. In a sense, he _was_ defending justice and was being a hero, in a way that was different from what he had imagined.

 _I don't initiate violence, I retaliate_. A quote rang through Gohan's mind. That one sentence summarized his feelings perfectly. He wasn't the one that came to this world and instigated violence, his enemies were. All he was doing was protecting his planet and every living being that lived on the planet. He technically wasn't from this Earth, but it was still Earth. Despite the differences, it was still the planet that housed billions of souls like himself.

Instead of continuing to meditate, he began to fly around and see the wilderness. Gohan's mind was at peace as he looked at the miles of luscious forests, gushing rivers, and scattering plains and fields. He didn't exactly need the motivation to fight and defend the Earth, but seeing nature untouched by mankind certainly, put a bit more desire to protect the world. His sensitive hearing could hear thousands of creatures going about their day and he could even hear the dim sound of the city miles away.

This was everything he needed to protect. Mankind and everything not touched by mankind.

As he was flying around, he could feel a powerful _ki_ signature tailing him. He had felt the energy of the individual for weeks now, and it was a very familiar one. It was the first and only _ki_ that he had felt in this world. Gohan began to slow down and dropped down onto the ground as he waited for the source of the _ki_ to appear.

Seconds later, a green alien landed right beside him. "You have grown, brat."

"It's not like I had a _choice_ in the matter," Gohan replied with a small smirk.

The Namek returned the smirk, "I thought you would need months to prepare yourself, but it looks like you're ready to finally train with me personally."

Gohan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's only been two months though."

"Listen, kid." Piccolo towered over the young half-Saiyan with a knowing look. "I've been watching you for the last two months. I've seen everything you do and I've heard everything you said. I know you're _not_ really Gohan."

"W-What do you mean? Of course I'm Gohan!" The half-human proclaimed confidently, but he could already tell that Piccolo _knew_ he wasn't Gohan.

"Hiroyoshi, is it?" The Namek disregarded Gohan's attempt to counter his statement. Gohan could feel the alien's eyes stare into his soul. "I don't care _who_ you are. I don't care _who_ put you in there, but clearly, there's a reason. And it seems like the real Gohan, who manages to appear from the clone you make, accepts what has happened. _You_ are now Gohan and _you_ must accept your role and duty. It wasn't the "real" Gohan that has been training hard and amplifying his powers for the last two months, but it was _you_. Perhaps this is why you've entered Gohan's body; to become stronger than the other Gohan could've become and to help us defeat the incoming Saiyans."

Piccolo grabbed the collar of Gohan's shirt and lifted him up. "I do not _care_ who you were. You are now Son Gohan. Forget your past and look forward towards your future. I will not tell anyone about this matter, but you _will_ help us defeat those Saiyans and become a strong fighter.

The boy weakly nodded as Piccolo calmed down and placed him onto the ground. "Good, now let us fight to test your strength. I can already sense your _ki_ levels are much higher than before. Let's see if you can put it to good use."

He went into his battle-ready stance and motioned for Gohan to do the same. Slowly, the half-alien boy entered into his usual combat stance and stared at the Namek directly in the eye. Silence prevailed for ten long seconds before either of them made a move.

It was Gohan who struck first. With a small yell, he zoomed towards Piccolo in an attempt to land a clean blow to his torso. His punch missed as Piccolo seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Gohan looked around him quickly, trying to locate his opponent. Piccolo had managed to suppress his _ki_ signal, so he was unable to sense where an attack would come from. _Damn_ _, where the hell did he go?_

Out of pure reflex, Gohan dodged a sweeping roundhouse kick that was aimed at his head. He could feel and see the green leg that nearly knocked his head off. Immediately, Gohan countered by aiming a front kick into the Namek's thigh. He felt a solid hit as Piccolo grunted from the hit and backed up away from him slowly. Another series of punches were aimed at his head and torso, but Gohan blocked most of them except one that managed to slip by his solid defense and struck him straight in the chest. The punch knocked the wind out of him and Piccolo exploited this chance to kick him into the ground.

Gohan shook his head and began to fly up in the air. Piccolo followed suit and soon, both warriors were hovering five hundred feet in the air. This time, Piccolo struck first and launched a powerful side kick that was blocked by Gohan's arms. The blow created a ripple of wind as both fighters began to counter each other's attacks with strikes of their own. When Piccolo leaned in towards Gohan once again to deliver a blow, Gohan let out a small grin and disappeared into thin air.

Bewildered, the Namek scanned his surroundings like Gohan had before. However, unlike Gohan, he was unable to stop his opponent's blow that came from below. A solid punch landed cleanly on Piccolo's chin as he spiraled out of the sky and crashed into a nearby mountain.

A small groan escaped Piccolo's mouth before he was attacked again by the half-Saiyan. Piccolo managed to block the incoming attacks, albeit just barely. The green alien managed to find a small opening in the human's stance and attacked him ruthlessly once again. However, this time, Gohan was expecting this to happen and countered with a small _ki_ blast into Piccolo's chest.

The small _ki_ blast blasted Piccolo through the mountain and onto the other side. With a growl, Piccolo stood up and fired several _ki_ blasts toward his attacker, but Gohan easily dodged the rapid array of attacks and fired a powerful, concentrated energy beam towards his opponent. Piccolo barely managed to dodge the attack and responded by shooting an energy beam of his own. This was skimmed Gohan, who winced as the intense energy shot burned his left shoulder.

Clutching his wounded shoulder, Gohan dodged Piccolo's barrage of _ki_ blasts. The Namek wasn't very merciful in his attacks and sped them up as Gohan was forced to dodge the attacks with his slowed movements. While he was dodging, Gohan was struck by two _ki_ shots that had been aimed perfectly, making him tumble backward into the dirt. Out of desperation, Gohan shot a powerful _ki_ blast into the ground, whipping up dust and dirt over the battlefield and temporarily blocking Piccolo's line of sight.

Before Piccolo could approach him, Gohan brought both of his hands forward and charged up a large amount of _ki_ into his hands. After three seconds, he carried out his attack. " _Reibimu!_ "

Even in his slightly weakened state, a large ray of energy shot out of his palms and headed straight towards the unsuspecting Piccolo. The green alien saw the attack at the last second and managed to dive out of the way of the blast. However, the blast still struck his legs and exploded, thrusting the stunned Namek into the ground without his legs.

Piccolo shouted in pain as he attempted to regrow his legs, but Gohan was already next to him with his right hand sticking out in front of him. "I believe I win, _sensei_."

"So you have." Piccolo merely stated as he attempted to wrap his head around the amount of power and potential Gohan was showing. While he was thinking, his legs grew back out and he let out a small yell because of the intense pain.

"I may be powerful, _sensei_ , but these Saiyans that are heading towards our planet are probably just as strong." Gohan helped his mentor onto his newly grown feet. "You shouldn't be just watching over me. You should train also. That way, we'll both be ready to take on the invaders when they come."

The Namek seemed to be surprised at the boy's comment, but nodded his head as he patted the boy's burnt shoulder and fixed his _gi_. "It seems you are right, Gohan. Perhaps I am too confident in my abilities. I will also train with you starting tomorrow. Be prepared to be thrown around, because I will not show _any_ mercy in our next fight."

Gohan grinned. "I look forward to it."


	3. Arrival

An End and A Beginning

 **Four months later...**

"Again!" Piccolo barked at the young boy in front of him.

Gohan closed his eyes and concentrated his _ki_ into his hands. He relaxed his body as he felt familiar rush of _ki_ flow through his arms and into his palms. When he felt a sufficient amount of _ki_ had gathered, he opened his eyes. " _Masenko!_ "

Instantly, a bright flash surrounded the boy's hands as an overwhelming amount of energy exploded out of the half-Saiyan. That beam of energy shot through several mountains before finally dissipated from view. Gohan placed his arms by his sides as he looked at the result of his attack.

The Namek looked at the crumbling mountains with a small nod of approval. "Your _Masenko_ has improved, but it seems like your _Reibimu_ is still your most powerful attack."

 _Reibimu_ used a similar amount of energy as the _Masenko_. However, it only needed three seconds to charge and the beam was much more focused and intense. Gohan had tested the attack after he fought Piccolo for the first time and discovered that the _Reibimu_ was able to shoot through _anything_ with ease.

"Your _ki_ control still needs refinement. We will be focusing on that starting tomorrow.." Piccolo ordered as he floated down to the ground and walked towards Gohan's cave.

Gohan followed his mentor and grabbed some wild herbs and dried meat for dinner. He knew that Piccolo didn't actually need food, per say, but it was still enjoyable talking about their lives and their past over dinner. When Piccolo discovered that "Gohan" was actually much older than he expected and was a warrior in the past, he began to consider the young boy as a comrade in arms instead of just a student.

" _Sensei_ ," Gohan said to Piccolo. Despite having a decent relationship with one another, Gohan still called the Namek his _sensei_ out of respect. "What will you do after we defeat the Saiyans heading towards Earth?"

Piccolo was silent as he stared at the fire pit in the middle of the cave, obviously pondering upon the question. Gohan knew that Piccolo always had a lot of things in his mind and waited patiently for a reply. Finally, after several silent seconds, Piccolo answered. "We'll need to _defeat_ the Saiyans before I answer that question. They are not to be underestimated. A weak Saiyan managed to fight both your father and me at the same time. The two that are heading towards Earth are _much_ stronger than the one I fought."

The human boy nodded. Piccolo was logical and wise, which was why Gohan greatly respected the alien. "You still want to defeat my father, don't you _sensei_."

It wasn't a question, but more of a statement. Gohan was well aware Piccolo's grudge towards Goku and his desire for vengeance.

"It is to avenge my father. I _must_ defeat him." Piccolo glared at the young boy. "It is why I desire to be stronger. One day, I will face your father in battle and crush him for what he did to my father."

"In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior," Gohan answered. "Revenge isn't always the answer. If you ignore what he did to you and grow stronger, you'll prove that you're better than him. You can't let revenge be your only goal and motivator."

Silence returned between the two warriors as they ate their meal. After Gohan had finished eating, the Namek remained in his sitting position and spoke. "That saying you just stated, is it something you learned from your old Earth?"

Occasionally, Piccolo would ask about his past, but Gohan always avoided the topic. However, Gohan didn't attempt to swerve away this time. "A famous quote from a human long ago."

"I've always wondered why you are so opposed to fighting people. Weren't you a warrior in your previous life?" Piccolo interrogated the young adult in the body of a child. He knew that he was walking on dangerous grounds as Gohan's past was a sensitive topic. More than once, Gohan would be disturbed from his meditative stance due to his memories and even lost sleep due to his past.

Gohan sighed and formed a small ball of _ki_ that brightened the cave. "It wasn't a choice. I was forced to fight against my will. I wanted to be a lawyer, which is a type of scholar that studies and upholds the law. My country and people needed me and forced me to join a war, a stupid war that was started for a stupid reason. I was trained and then sent to the battlefield. I fought in two battles without dying and in my third battle, one of my closest friends died in front of me."

The half-human tossed the _ki_ ball out the opening and it exploded in the distant. His eyes were filled with sadness and regret. "I was too relaxed, too confident that I would survive again. I was talking to my friend as if both of us were at some park and hanging out instead of being on a battlefield. I was enjoying myself too much. While we were talking, an enemy soldier threw a grenade at us..."

"And what is a grenade?" Piccolo questioned the boy.

"A device made by humans that is similar to a _ki_ ball. It's an ovalish, metal object that explodes four seconds after you pull the pin off it. When it explodes, the outer layer made of metal becomes shrapnel and hits everyone within the blast radius. My friend saw the object and pushed me out of the way, just in time. He laid down on top of the grenade and took the blast himself. If I hadn't been so carefree and confident, he would've lived. But if the war never happened in the first place, he would've lived along with thousands of others. _That's_ why I hate fighting and war. It takes lives, lives of fighters and innocents."

Piccolo stood up and walked outside, with Gohan directly behind him. His back was still turned to the young boy as he looked at the setting sun in the distance. "And then you died?"

"Died in the battle after. I went into that battle seeking revenge. I was angry and I didn't fear death. I was in front of the others and then I was shot in the chest. A shot to the heart. When I woke up, I was in Gohan's body."

The Namek turned around and glanced at the boy. "You've been given a chance, a chance to change your destiny and the destiny of this world. You might hate to fight, but fighting _will_ be necessary to protect this world. If you want to prevent your loved ones and yourself from dying, you must become stronger."

Gohan nodded. "I'm defending this world because it's Earth. It's my home, my planet. I _will_ protect everyone on this planet, even though I only know you on this entire planet."

After that, neither said anything to each other and began to meditate.

* * *

When Gohan woke up from his slumber, he discovered that Piccolo had meditated throughout the entire night by himself. The human boy was impressed with the alien's concentration as the air around his mentor literally _vibrated_ with energy. As soon as Gohan got closer, the Namek opened his eyes with anticipation. "We will be going back to your home today."

Gohan froze at those words. "Going back _home_?"

"Yes." Piccolo stood up and loomed over the boy. "You must meet your _mother_."

"I don't need any more motivation. I'm mentally prepared to defend Earth, even at the cost of my own life." Gohan replied with confusion in his voice.

"That is _exactly_ why you must go home and meet your mother. You take death to lightly as if it's merely a cold that can be cured! You have the motivation, yes, but for the wrong reason! You must not protect this Earth because it is Earth, you must learn to protect this Earth because this is _your_ Earth. You must know that there are loved ones _here_ for you. Now come with me, brat."

Knowing that he couldn't win an argument against Piccolo, Gohan followed his teacher as both of them flew off into the sky towards his "home."

After flying for several hours, the two finally landed at the doorsteps of the Son Residence. Smoke was coming out of the small chimney at the top and Gohan could make out a figure moving about the house.

Approaching the domed house, Gohan softly placed a hand on the outer walls of his home. _A part of me recognizes this place, but it seems so foreign to me. The cave is a more familiar home than this place_.

"So this is where my mother lives?" Gohan whispered, his hand still leaning on the wall.

Piccolo crossed his arms. "Your mother, Chi-Chi, is in there. Enter, brat."

Gohan swallowed hard and grabbed the door handle. He opened the door as silently as he could and walked into the familiar, yet unfamiliar, living room. "Mom?"

He heard something drop in the kitchen as a woman with a purple dress and orange cloak ran towards the door. "Gohan? Is it really you, Gohan?"

"It's me, mom," Gohan announced with a small, faltering smile. "I'm back."

Chi-Chi ran towards her only son and gave him a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, you're back! I can't believe it! Master Roshi and Krillin told me that Piccolo kidnapped you and forced you to go and train by yourself in the middle of nowhere! You must have been so afraid!"

Despite Chi-Chi not actually being his mother, something jumped in "Gohan" that made him hug her back firmly. "It's fine mom. _I'm_ fine. Piccolo has been training me for something important. I have to keep on training."

The black haired woman held the boy's shoulders and stared at him directly at his eyes. "You will not leave this house again, do you understand mister? You will stay here and study to become a scholar, not a fighting freak like your father!"

"Mom, don't worry. I want to become a lawyer one day," Gohan replied, his answer making his mother look surprised. "But the world needs me right now. Dad's... gone and _someone_ has the defend Earth. Don't worry, I'll still study by myself while I'm training. Just give me the books and I'll read them every day."

"No," Chi-Chi responded strongly. "I've already lost your father, and I will not lose _you_ to those crazy fighters! If you want to become a lawyer, you'll stay at home and study instead of wasting your time fighting!"

Gohan looked at the woman he called his mother. It was the first time he had ever seen her, but she already reminded him of his old mother.

 _Your ancestors lost their lives fighting pointless conflicts. Your father settled down nicely instead of becoming a soldier. So will you._

Unlike his "old" mother, Gohan couldn't just accept her request. "Mom, if I don't fight, the people that killed dad will kill us all. I _need_ to fight. The world needs me. I promise I'll come back alive and finish my studies after this is all over."

Chi-Chi fell silent at Gohan's response, dropping her hands from his shoulders. He could tell that she was considering his proposal but knew she was having difficulties giving in. _After all, who in their right mind can send their son off to a certain death? Maybe my ancestors, but even still_.

"Are you sure you'll be alright with that Demon King as your teacher? You could learn from someone like Master Roshi or even Yamcha..." Chi-Chi asked, visibly worried for her son.

" _Sensei_ is a wonderful teacher mom. His training methods might be a bit harsh, but he's definitely powerful and a great teacher. I don't think I'll learn things as fast from Master Roshi or anyone else. Besides, he protects me if things get dangerous," Gohan vouched for his teacher. He was confused at first who the Demon King was, but he easily connected the dots and realized that his only mentor's nickname must have been the "Demon King."

Chi-Chi's face softened slightly. "I'll think about your request _if_ you accept two conditions."

Gohan perked up, interested in what his mother had to say.

"One, you train here at Mount Paozu so I can keep on eye on you. I want to make sure you're _properly_ fed and healthy while you're training."

The half-Saiyan nodded. " _Sensei_ probably won't mind. I'll ask him, he's right outside."

"Two, you have to study with me for two hours a day. I don't want you to forget about any of your studies while you're training. You have to keep your mind sharp too."

"I'll go talk to _sensei_." Gohan began to walk towards the door. "I'll be right back, mom."

Before he could leave, his mother spoke to him again. "Gohan."

He turned around to face his mother. "Yes, mom?"

"I love you and I missed you," Chi-Chi said with a loving hug. She released herself from Gohan and ran back into the kitchen. "I'll whip up lunch for you and your teacher, so you better not run off anywhere!"

Gohan gave a small smile towards the kitchen as he stepped through the door. Outside, Piccolo was waiting for him as he leaned against the walls of the dome house. He was rapidly tapping his finger as he watched the half-human boy step outside. "That took you long enough. What did she tell you?"

"She told me she loved me and that she missed me. She doesn't want me to turn into my dad and wants me to quit fighting and study at home." Gohan admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Piccolo let out a smirk at the boy's response. "Expected from your mother. She was always a strong and independent woman, but she never really enjoyed fighting like your father. What else did she tell you?"

"Er... She told me she _might_ consider letting me train if we trained at Mount Paozu and if I studied with her for two hours a day." Gohan muttered as if something was caught in his throat.

"And what did you tell her?" Piccolo questioned as his voice dangerously teetered on the edge.

Suddenly, Piccolo seemed a hundred times bigger than Gohan as the boy nervously answered. "I told her that I'll ask you?"

The Namek didn't explode like Gohan expected him to but seemed deep in thought as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

Before the green alien could supply an answer, Gohan spoke up. " _Sensei_ , I have a question."

"What is it?" Piccolo responded monotonously as if he was focusing all his energy on thinking about Chi-Chi's two requests.

"Well... My mother has a lot of _ki_. I could sense her energy without needing to focus. Can't we possibly train her and have her help us?" The half-human boy asked.

It was an outrageous request and Gohan could clearly see Piccolo's concentration break. "You want _me_ to teach _your mother_ how to fight the Saiyans?"

Gohan slowly nodded.

Piccolo planted his face into his hands and let out a booming laugh. "That is, perhaps, the most _ridiculous_ idea I have ever heard. She may have been a semi-finalist at one of the World Martial Arts tournament, but she is in no shape or form _strong_ enough to face a Saiyan. If she did fight the Saiyans at her current strength, she would be no different than a fighting dummy to them."

"But she could train and become stronger. I've become a lot stronger in 6 months. She doesn't need to _defeat_ them, but she could help us. If anyone has a motivation to defend Earth, it's her." Gohan shot back. "Look, _I_ don't want her in this fight, but we're going to need a _lot_ of help defeating those Saiyans. I sensed her _ki_ and I could sense a lot of energy flowing through her. She just needs to train hard and she can be at our current strength soon enough. She was a former fighter, so she shouldn't have difficulties training."

Piccolo grunted and stroked his chin as he began to think. "She definitely does have a strong amount of _ki_ and since she used to be a martial artist, she'll be able to use _ki_ with a bit of training. However, we're already quite busy training each other and the gap between our power levels and her power level is huge. She'll only be dead weight."

Closing his eyes, he placed his index finger on his forehead as a clone of him appeared by his side. "Then we can just have her train with me while you train with the _real_ Gohan. He is just as strong as me and knows all my fighting techniques, so it shouldn't be that different."

"You will train her every other day and then _I_ will train her for the remaining days personally," Piccolo announced to the young boy. "You will help her with the physical aspects of her training and I will train her to use her _ki_. I still believe that this is a very stupid idea, but I will be willing to let her train with us for a month. If she is not making enough progress or she isn't committed, then we will _not_ allow her to join in our fight against the Saiyans. Understood?"

Gohan replied with a grin as he punched his teacher in the arm. "Thanks, _sensei_."

The mentor punched the boy right back, except with much more force. Gohan was thrown backward into the nearby forest and crashed into several trees before skidding to a stop. Piccolo was still at the front of the Son Residence, smirking at the destruction he had caused. "The only time you may punch me is in combat."

* * *

 **One Month Later...**

Even back on his Earth, "Gohan" knew that mothers were terrifying. His mother had often scared the life out of him and his father when she was angry. He had a vivid memory of his mother going on a rampage after she discovered that he had skipped English class because he was eating with his friends off the school grounds.

Though, he never expected to have a mother that could do martial arts, fly, and shoot energy balls out of her hands. Gohan made a mental note to _never_ irritate his mother because unlike his "old" mother, this one could _literally_ destroy him and the house.

Gohan thought that, like Piccolo, his mother would laugh at the idea of training and fighting the Saiyans. However, Chi-Chi thought that his idea was brilliant and immediately began to train with him. He suspected that she was training mainly to watch over him, but his mother also seemed keen on the Saiyans that killed his father a "piece of her mind."

Following the agreement, Piccolo and Gohan stayed in the Son Residence. Piccolo took up the guest bedroom while Gohan stayed in his own room. Gohan had to admit that his bedroom was a lot more comfortable than the cave he had slept in for six months, but he secretly missed the cave he called home. He was getting more and more familiar with the house "Gohan" once called home, but it was still strange living in an actual house with a bed when he had spent the majority of his time on this Earth living in a cave in the middle of nowhere.

He was also not used to having someone make a meal for him. Chi-Chi forced him to eat several servings each time he ate, and he was fed _at least_ three times a day. Living in the wilderness definitely tamed Gohan's massive appetite, but his mother's persistence on making him eat tons of food ("You're a growing boy! You need to eat _real_ food!") per day made his appetite bigger. It certainly didn't help that his metabolism was _extremely_ fast.

Other than that, his life continued on as usual. He would wake up before the sun even rose and practice his _katas_ and fighting stances, both on the ground and in the air. He would also run laps throughout the mountains, fighting any monsters or creatures that got in his way. His mother usually woke up around the end of his morning exercise, usually by the large commotion that his running caused. After shoveling down a hearty breakfast made by Chi-Chi, Gohan would help his mother with the physical aspects of her training. Even though she already knew much of the basics due to her background, Chi-Chi still learned _katas_ and combat forms from her son to refresh her memories and solidify her various stances. He would also force her to do various exercises, which was much different than his training routine. While Gohan's fighting form mainly revolved around power and defense, his mother's fighting style relied on speed and precision. As a result, Gohan and Piccolo created a training routine for her to maximize her own style and potential by enhancing her speed. While Gohan and Chi-Chi did their own exercises, clone Gohan sparred with Piccolo in order to enhance Piccolo's skills and also Gohan's skills, as the clone retained all memories of itself and gave it to the original Gohan when the bodies merged again. Each spar would help the fighters understand each other better and make them find new weaknesses and openings to exploit.

Afterward, Gohan would help Chi-Chi make lunch and the three would quietly settle down to eat. Lunch would end quickly as training began right away again, this time with Gohan and his mother sparring one another while Piccolo went off to meditate and train by himself. Once in a while, Piccolo would overwatch their spars and offer them a few comments and pointers, but the Namek usually left the two Sons alone to spar and spend some quality time with each other. After several hours of sparring, the exhausted mother and son would go into the house and study together, reading various books to keep Gohan's mind sharp. Dinner was served after studying and the rest of the day was spent by meditating silently in the forest before scattering off to sleep.

On the days that Gohan didn't train his mother, Piccolo would step in and help her control her _ki_. Unsurprisingly, she could use _ki_ to some extent, such as flying, but her control over it was very limited and Piccolo trained her by having her do a variety of drills and exercises. Gohan suspected that Piccolo was going fairly easy on his mother because of her fiery temper, but the young half-Saiyan never brought that up in his conversations with his mentor.

Every day, his mother improved bit by bit and this encouraged Gohan, who had believed all along that his mother had the potential to become stronger and better. Sure, she wasn't as powerful as himself or Piccolo as they were _now_ , but she was certainly as powerful as he was just a few months ago. Even Piccolo seemed to have realized just how powerful Mama Son _really_ was, though he never admitted it out loud.

He didn't admit it verbally, but the expression on his face as Chi-Chi sparred with him was enough to clearly express his thoughts. Piccolo barely managed to dodge a devastating side kick from Chi-Chi, who looked calm and collected against her green opponent. The Namek countered immediately with a punch aimed at Chi-Chi's face, but the woman managed to stop the punch with her arms. Gohan's mother winced when the punch made impact, but didn't back down and immediately created distance between herself and Piccolo.

It was in the middle of the day after lunch when Piccolo challenged Chi-Chi to a sparring match, which the woman accepted eagerly. They had been sparring for nearly an hour, but neither of them looked ready to back down. Gohan merely watched as his teacher and mother fight each other nearly a thousand feet in the air. Not that he wanted to intervene, as both fighters looked ready to kill each other.

Chi-Chi immediately utilized her speed to launch a barrage of small, but precise punches to Piccolo. Despite training for months against Gohan, Piccolo found it difficult to block _all_ her punches. Her arms and hands became blurs as each blow against the Namek let out cracking noises as if a whip was hitting Piccolo instead of a pair of fists. Gohan winced as one of the punches managed to knock away one of Piccolo's arm for a moment. The black haired woman immediately pounced on the opening and slammed three consecutive punches into the alien's face before he could raise his arm again.

Piccolo staggered backward and released his _ki_ in order to buy himself more time to recover. " _Kiai!_ "

The small _ki_ shockwave pushed Chi-Chi back several feet, but she immediately resumed her offensive and charged towards her prey. However, this time Piccolo was ready for her as he let out a _ki_ blast directly towards the rushing human woman. The blast flung the woman away from Piccolo and she fell out the sky from the blast, tumbling onto the ground before halting beneath a surprised Gohan.

Gohan helped his mother up and smiled at her. "You got this mom. You've definitely gotten stronger, just don't be so reckless."

"Oh, Gohan! You're such an angel!" His mother attempted to hug him but was immediately forced to back away as Piccolo approached with killing intent.

"Brat! Control your mother. If she does this in battle, she'll be killed for sure!" Piccolo growled threateningly. "She's lucky that I'm not blasting you and her away with a _Masenko_."

Chi-Chi's eyes flared as she turned to the Namek. "Threaten me or my son again and I will _personally_ kick you off this Earth."

Gohan's mentor's eyes were filled with amusement as he stared down the Earthling. "You can try, but you will fail."

Instead of yelling and charging at Piccolo, Gohan's mother gave the green creature a menacing glare and motioned for him to attack. Piccolo let out a smirk as he approached her and then rapidly let out balls of _ki_ at Chi-Chi. The balls scattered and exploded as if it was shot from a shotgun and completely destroyed the spot where Chi-Chi was standing a moment before.

Unfortunately for Piccolo, Chi-Chi had _moved_ before the shots landed and she struck the green alien from behind before he could spot her. Piccolo collapsed into the ground from the sudden hit, but rapidly countered the punches and kicks delivered by Chi-Chi with just his legs as he used his arms to tumble backward and to land on his feet.

"Perhaps you're not as useless as I thought before, but you are still a long way from defeating _me_." Piccolo proclaimed as if his claim was an established fact.

The human female launched herself into the air and her opponent immediately followed suit. She immediately pulled back her hands and then pushed them forward towards the ascending Piccolo. " _Reibimu!_ "

Shocked at the fact that Chi-Chi used her son's own move, Piccolo barely managed to dodge the precise and concentrated beam as it shot straight into the ground and created a _very_ deep hole. Gohan peered into it as the battle continued and swore that the beam reached the Earth's core. The beam _would've_ done major damage to Piccolo, but it didn't and Piccolo continued to fly upwards to take down Chi-Chi.

Chi-Chi braced herself for impact as Piccolo deliberately collided into her, intent on engaging in close combat and dominating with his superior power. However, Chi-Chi used the collision to push herself further into the sky, using the momentum from Piccolo to boost her speed. When she finally stop, she was a hundred feet above Piccolo and let out a scattershot of _ki_ bolts towards the Namek. Piccolo dodged some of the bolts and destroyed the ones close to him with his own _ki_ , closing the distance between himself and his opponent while charging _ki_ in his hands. Chi-Chi knew that the end of the battle of was near and imitated Piccolo.

" _Masenko!_ "

" _Reibimu!_ "

Both fighters released their energy beams at similar times and both attacks met in between the two users. Chi-Chi gritted her teeth as she pushed her hands forward, urging her _Reibimu_ to cut through the _Masenko_. On the other hand, Piccolo let out a small smirk as he increased the power of the _Masenko_.

It seemed like a stalemate between the two until Piccolo's _Masenko_ began to overpower the slightly weaker _Reibimu_ and slammed into Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi immediately dropped her arms and slowly floated back to the ground clutching her sides in pain. The _Reibimu_ managed to dull most of the _Masenko's_ destructive power, but a part of it still managed to strike the human woman as she immediately sank to the ground in exhaustion.

Gohan rushed to his mother and immediately began to tend to her wounds. Piccolo landed a moment later and gave a satisfying grin to both of his students. "That was an enjoyable spar."

The black haired woman rolled her eyes. "I was _very_ close to defeating you. Next time we fight, I'll make sure to pummel you to the ground _harder_."

"I was only using half of my full powers against you," Piccolo announced, his grin plastered on his face. "If there is a next time, I will make sure to not hold back."

"You're not getting _any_ dinner today! Go out and find your own meal!" Chi-Chi huffed as she stormed into the house.

Piccolo grimaced as if he had been hit by a _ki_ energy blast. "I _do_ have to admit, her power and speed is fairly impressive.."

"See? She is powerful. She just needed proper and practical training," Gohan replied while scratching the back of his head. "You _might_ want to leave and come back after a few hours to let her cool off. I really don't want her to explode and carve a hole into the house."

The Namek gave a curt nod to his student before disappearing into the forest. Gohan sighed and stared at the clear blue sky. _Now there are five more months left..._

* * *

 **4 months later...**

The trio of warriors was finishing up their breakfast on the table outside the Son Residence when the sky began to darken. All three of them looked at the sky as a bright source of light in the distance flashed in the darkness.

Gohan looked at the two adults with a questioning look. "What's happening? Are the Saiyans here?"

Piccolo scowled. "Your father is being revived by the Dragon Balls. That means the Saiyans are almost here."

"What are Dragon Balls?" Gohan wondered out loud, drawing a curious look from his mother.

His mentor glared at him, which shut him up instantly. "We must prepare for battle immediately. Since Goku is being revived as we speak, it is most likely that they will arrive in a few hours. They're a month earlier than we expected, but it doesn't matter now."

Gohan and his mother nodded as they quickly cleaned up the table and changed into their respective combat clothing. With the help of Piccolo, Gohan managed to change his clothing into a blue tunic with a white cape and shoulder pads. He also had a white headband around his head, which was used to keep his unruly hair tamed. His clothes were all modified to be resistant to basic physical and _ki_ attacks. Meanwhile, Chi-Chi had changed into her old blue and red Chinese dress, with her hair in a bun and a white headband around her head much like her son. Her clothes were also modified to be durable and resistant like Gohan's clothing using Piccolo's power.

Once they were all prepared for battle, the three of them waited for the _ki_ signal of either the Saiyans or Goku. All three of them, especially Gohan, hoped they would detect the _ki_ levels of the latter first, but unfortunately, two pairs of _ki_ sources were detected.

"The Saiyans," Gohan muttered as he felt a tremendous amount of _ki_ being released for the entire world to detect. "They're not afraid at all, are they? They haven't even bothered to hide their presence."

The tall Namek placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "They believe that there is no one on Earth that can challenge their power. We'll go over there and prove them wrong. They'll be surprised to discover that there are _three_ beings that are more than capable of facing them."

Chi-Chi let out a burst of _ki_ , surprising both the alien and the human boy. "You mean _four_. I defeated you in spars before, oh great Demon King. Unless you mean to tell me that I'm _stronger_ than these Saiyans."

"I'm not entirely sure, actually. Their _ki_ levels are powerful, but that will definitely change once a battle begins. We also have a powerful amount of _ki_ within us, but we aren't releasing it like they are. For all we know, they could be ten times _stronger_ than us." Piccolo stated. "Enough talk, let us... _greet_ these aliens. I sense that they have landed near a city and I'm sure you would like to limit the amount of destruction those two will cause."

All three of them shot off into the sky, towards the general direction of the overpowering source of _ki_.

* * *

"So this is Earth?" Prince Vegeta asked as he scanned his surroundings. Hundreds of people gawked at the sight of two human looking aliens stepping out of their spaceships, which had landed in the downtown area of Metro East. "It seems... promising. That is, for a dustball."

Nappa, the bigger one of the two, lifted his finger. "Shall we greet the little human insects of this planet?"

"No," Vegeta firmly stated as he held out his hand towards the muscular Saiyan. "If we destroy the planet too much, we'll lower the value of this planet. Also, we're here to look for those damned Dragon Balls. If there is one nearby and you destroy it, Frieza will have your head."

"You're right! I wasn't thinking." Nappa sputtered as he looked around at the staring humans in disgust.

The prince of Saiyans also glanced at the humans. The humans were all lined up at the edges of the craters and stared at the two Saiyans as if they were zoo animals. Irritated, Vegeta formed a _ki_ beam with his hands and killed every human that were on the edges of the craters or near them. "Stare at us again and we will _crush_ you!"

All the humans in the area ran away and scattered at his words. Vegeta let out a triumphant grin as he and Nappa flew into the air. Vegeta turned towards the west as his scouter began to make noises and go off. "It seems like we have some people coming to welcome us to this dustball. How exciting."

The last two words were filled with sarcasm as Nappa laughed and looked towards the same place the prince was looking. "It seems like we have several _weaklings_ heading towards us rapidly. Several of them have power levels over 1000! Quite impressive for a backwater planet."

"Why even bother to go and look for them?" Vegeta said as he and his partner remained floating above their spaceships. "They are bringing the party to _us_. We should prepare to greet our guests with a full Saiyan styled welcome."

The big, muscular Saiyan snickered at the prince's comment. However, his snicker disappeared for a moment as his scouter picked up something. "My prince, it seems like we have thousands of puny _humans_ and their machines heading toward us. It's as if they're trying to destroy us with their primitive weapons and power."

As if on cue, thousands of soldiers of the Earth's Military approached the crater, with dozens of tanks and other vehicles trailing behind the soldiers. The leader of the group, a tall and bearded man with red hair, pulled out a megaphone and began to speak into it. "You have destroyed a large part of downtown Metro East and killed dozens of civilians! Surrender yourselves to the King, or prepare to be destroyed!"

"Are they being serious?" Nappa stated as he snorted at the red-headed man's proclamation.

Vegeta sighed and crossed his arms. "You may destroy them as you see fit. They are starting to annoy me also."

Nappa gave a malicious grin to the leader of the soldiers as he extended his palms towards the armada of troops. "With pleasure."

A massive energy beam shot out of the large man's hands and completely disintegrated everything in its path. Everything within the path of the beam was destroyed, including the soldiers that had been mobilized to battle the Saiyans and entire blocks of the city. After it became clear that everything within his line of sight was dead, Nappa lowered his hands and laughed. "These humans are _weak_. Perhaps we should enslave this entire planet for ourselves."

Before Vegeta could answer, two humans and a green alien landed in front of the Saiyans. The shortest one of them, a young boy no older than 7, stared at the men with intense hate. "I am Son Gohan and your friend killed my father. Don't think you'll leave this Earth alive because you _will_ die today."

* * *

The moment those words escaped his mouth, Gohan knew there was no turning back.

As he had flown towards the urban area, Gohan had felt thousands of sources of _ki_ disappearing. The _ki_ emitted from the individuals weren't strong, but it showed that those individuals were still alive and well. When they began to disappear by the hundreds, Gohan knew _exactly_ what was happening. The Saiyans that had arrived were extinguishing the _ki_ of people by killing them.

And he was going to make them pay for every life that they took.

The bigger man out of the two Saiyans sniggered at the tiny little boy that stood in front of him. He was at least 4 feet taller than the little boy and his biceps were bigger than the Earthling. "You? Destroy me, General Nappa, and Vegeta, the _prince_ of all Saiyans? Tell you what, little brat, turn around and go back home and I'll _maybe_ spare your life."

" _Kiai_ ," Gohan shouted, his _ki_ flowing freely around him. The sudden burst of energy even made Nappa stumble back a few steps.

Nappa eyed his scouter and gaped at the numbers. "3,000 for a kid like you? How?"

Gohan grinned as he glared at the dumbstruck Saiyan General. "Prepare yourself, because I won't be going easy on you."

Before either of them could attack each other, several beings arrived next to the group of warriors gathered in the battered downtown of Metro East. Gohan turned his attention towards the newly arrivals. "More Saiyans?"

His mentor shook his head. "Reinforcements for us. The short bald one is Krillin, the one with the scars is Yamcha, the tri-clops is Tenshinhan, and the small white one is Chaozu."

The bald monk groaned when he heard Piccolo's comment. "I'm not _that_ short, I'm taller than Chaozu!"

"Let's discuss your height _after_ we defeat these Saiyans." Piccolo didn't shoot lasers out of his eyes, but Krillin instantly cowered at Piccolo's ferocious glare.

The muscular Saiyan giant placed his hands on his hips as he looked at the "welcoming committee." "You, Namekian. Where are the Dragon Balls on this planet?"

Piccolo stared at the Saiyans impassively without saying a word, but Krillin turned towards the green alien with wonders in his eyes. "You're an alien?"

"You haven't told your _friends_ that you were an alien?" Vegeta said with a scoff. Seeing that Piccolo's face still remained neutral, Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Or perhaps, you _didn't_ know that you were Namekian? Don't tell me you thought you were from Earth! You look _nothing_ like the tiny humans on this planet. You are much more powerful than most, if not all of them."

Nappa let out a vicious grin as he looked at his opponents. "If that Namekian doesn't know anything, we can kill him. Frieza will be pleased to hear that we subjugated Earth, took the Dragon Balls, _and_ killed a Namekian."

The prince of all Saiyans crossed his arms and allowed his _ki_ to move freely out of his body. The Earth Special Forces were startled at the massive amount of power being emitted from the small man, as his power was definitely greater than his partner. "You may use the seeds, General Nappa. I've been fairly bored so far, but perhaps these _Earthlings_ can entertain me. We will kill all but one of them and force the last one to reveal the information we need to us."

Nappa floated down onto the ground and blasted the pavement, revealing the natural earth below. He dug six small holes and planted them into the ground. After planting them, he pulled out a small bottle and poured chemicals onto the seeds. Suddenly, six alien creatures with wrinkled heads and green torsos arose from the ground, turning directly towards the Z-Fighters.

"Those are your enemies." General Nappa gestured towards the Earth fighters making the Saibamens turn towards their opponents. "Now _kill_ them."

One of them moved towards the Z-Fighters but was instantly blasted away by a _ki_ energy bolt launched from the hands of Gohan. The Saibamen struck by the blast was thrown back and laid on the ground unmoving as smoke rose from its chest.

"Enough of your games." Gohan locked his eyes with the Saiyan general. "You're facing me."

* * *

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **Trunkssan766** : Gohan will not defeat Nappa easily and by himself. He is powerful and can certainly fight on par with Nappa, but he won't easily overpower the Saiyan general._

 ** _DragonNOOB:_** _I'm trying to allow Gohan to bring out his full potential while making subtle and major differences to the story. After all, the story will be boring if it's just the same old "Gohan dominates his opponents easily and everyone just watches from the sideline."_

 ** _Feel free to leave comments and criticism in the review section. I'll respond to all reviews._**


	4. Clash of Titans

An End and A Beginning

Vegeta looked fairly impressed at the sudden display of the half-Saiyan's power. "He's not as weak as we thought he was. Have the remaining five Saibamens deal with the other annoying Earthlings while you deal with this short one personally."

Nappa turned to his alien underlings as he pounded his fists together and looked down on the short human boy. "I will _have fun_ with this one. Take care of the others, but leave at least one alive for interrogation. If you don't want to be destroyed like your foolish brethren, then take them seriously and _kill_ them."

All five Saibamens complied with the order and began to attack the assembled Z-Fighters. Due to the numbers difference, Piccolo avoided facing a Saibamen opponent and gracefully landed next to Gohan. "He is not an easy opponent to take down. Do not take him lightly."

"I'll definitely need the help. Thanks, _sensei_ ," Gohan said as he readied himself in front of the Saiyan general. Piccolo crossed his arms and merely stared at the large opponent that was approaching them.

"Since you wanted to take me on so badly, I'll fight you instead of those _pathetic_ Saibamens." Nappa leered as he ripped off his scouter. "A two versus one? A piece of cake. Be honored that General Nappa of the Saiyans is going to kill you _personally_."

Gohan gave an intense glare towards his opponent, his eyes flashing with anger. "I would tell you my name, but it won't matter because the only ones that will be dead are you and your short friend."

All three fighters facing off each other felt a brief spike in _ki_ from the short Saiyan prince, who looked irritated at Gohan's last comment. "Make sure to spare the little boy, general. _I_ want to kill him."

"With pleasure." The large Saiyan released a loud yell and began to release his _ki_ freely.

Both Gohan and Piccolo stepped backward as they felt Nappa's power level multiplying rapidly. Gohan grunted as he destroyed some rocks and boulders that were being whipped up by Nappa's power display. "Certainly flashy, isn't he?"

"Then let us show him that we're not outmatched." Piccolo calmly suggested. His arms remained crossed as energy surrounded his body freely. Gohan followed suit and allowed his remaining suppressed _ki_ to explode around him.

Vegeta, who still had his scouter activated over his eyes, smirked at the numbers that were on his scouter. "That _brat_ has a power level of 5000 and the Namekian has a power level of 6000. Impressive, considering you're living on this backwater planet."

Nappa rapidly dashed forward, utilizing the _ki_ that surrounded him to propel himself like a bullet. Gohan and Piccolo both barely dodged the man's charge and then proceeded to land behind the glowing Saiyan.

The half-Saiyan placed his finger on his forehead and created a clone of himself, which promptly hugged him tightly. " _Niisan!_ "

"Gohan! Focus on the battle!" Piccolo yelled at the two. "Lose focus for one moment and you'll be killed!"

The original Gohan gave a small nod to the clone. "Let's do this, _sensei_."

Despite the sudden appearance of another Gohan, Nappa seemed unfazed and continued his attack on his opponents. He delivered high-powered _ki_ blasts to the three, but the three fighters dodged the attacks and closed the distance to engage him in close combat.

Original Gohan attacked from the front, making Nappa focus his defense towards the strong half-Saiyan. Using a combination of punches and kicks, Gohan gave Nappa little chance or time to reply with a counterattack. While he was preoccupied with Gohan, Nappa was struck in the back by Piccolo's powerful roundhouse kick. The Saiyan general found himself falling towards the ground, but Gohan knocked the man up into the air with a sweeping uppercut.

In the air, clone Gohan nervously charged up energy in his hands. When Nappa was swept into the air, the clone released his attack. " _Masenko_!"

The famed Demon Blast struck the Saiyan general head on and threw him into the hard concrete. Gohan gave a thumbs up to the clone, who was looking at his hands in awe. The clone grinned and waved back at the original body.

However, instead of staying down like the Z-Fighters expected, Nappa slowly stood up with a different look in his eyes. "You _dare_ to burn me with your _feeble_ attacks? I will make sure all of you _pay_ for your stupidity!"

Nappa roared as he released an intense beam of energy from his hands at his three opponents. All three managed to dodge the beam due to the inaccuracy caused by Nappa's sudden rage, but the beam continued forward. It struck a Saibamen, slicing through the alien as if its body was made of butter, and then striking a surprised looking Krillin. Krillin took the brunt of the attack and was thrown back by the powerful attack.

"NO!" Yamcha cried as he crushed his opponent into the ground and checked upon the bald monk. After feeling for a pulse, Yamcha shook his head in disbelief. "He's gone. Krillin is dead."

Those words shocked the other Z-Fighters, who looked at the scarred warrior in disbelief. Gohan turned towards the Saiyan general, who seemed much more powerful than before, with a look of complete hatred displayed on his face. He hadn't known the monk personally, but Krillin was an ally and Nappa _killed_ him while he was fighting another battle.

"You are _weak_. Not only can you not defeat us, but you kill a person that wasn't even fighting you. Are all Saiyans like you this _pathetic_?" Piccolo mocked the Saiyan general.

The muscular Saiyan let out a rumbling laugh towards the Z-Fighters. All of them had managed to subdue their alien opponents and joined the trio's side "Mocking me and laughing at me before you are about to be killed? I will _wipe_ all of your existences from this miserable planet."

All seven remaining Z-Fighters, including the clone, rushed towards Nappa in unity. Nappa took a short step back before powering up once more. " _Break Cannon!_ "

A beam of energy blasted its way out of Nappa's mouth and slammed into the approaching Z-Fighters. All of the attackers were either thrown back or avoided the massive attack. Unfortunately for Gohan's clone, it was caught in the blast and merged back with the original, making original Gohan shudder as he understood the magnitude of the ultimate attack.

Chi-Chi flew next to him and softly held his shoulders. "Are you ok, Gohan? I saw that blast hit you and I was..."

"I'm fine, mom. We should focus on the battle first. We can't let that Saiyan get away with what he did." Gohan replied, brushing his mother off. He didn't want to worry or anger his mother, but they were in the middle of a _battle_.

Prince Vegeta seemed to have heard the conversation and sniggered at Gohan and his mother. "From what I can tell, the brat is a Saiyan half-breed. If you're his mother, then you must be Kakarrot's mate. Interesting..."

"Nappa, take care of the others. I will deal with Kakarrot's brat and his mate myself." Vegeta flew towards the woman and her son. Nappa responded with an affirmative nod and continued his destructive attack against the others.

Piccolo, sensing that Chi-Chi and Gohan were in danger, flew towards the Saiyan prince to intercept him. However, Vegeta easily turned towards the approaching Namek and released a large and powerful wave of energy from his entire body towards Piccolo. "Do not _interfere_ with my business, you foolish Namekian!"

The blast slammed into Piccolo, throwing the green alien backward as he crashed into a nearby building and collapsed into the rubble.

 _Sensei!_ Gohan mentally screamed. The air around Gohan became thicker as _ki_ crackled around the angry half-Saiyan. He threw a protective arm in front of Chi-Chi as Vegeta approached the pair slowly and steadily. "The fight ends here, _Your Highness._ "

"Nothing would please me more than _killing_ your parents and making you repeat those last two words for the rest of your life." Vegeta threw off his scouter which was displaying fluctuating numbers and cracked his knuckles. "Maybe I _will_ spare you just for that reason."

With one last smirk, Vegeta disappeared into thin air. Gohan quickly looked around, his back instinctively going against his mother's. "I'll need your help here too, mom. He's definitely stronger than me, but we should be able to delay him long enough for dad to get here."

Chi-Chi nodded. For several long seconds, neither of the fighters moved as they waited for Vegeta's attack. Finally, the Saiyan prince materialized back into the air as he delivered a solid punch straight into the stomach of Gohan.

Gohan and his mother were pushed back dozens of feet as Chi-Chi barely managed to prevent Gohan from falling out of the sky. Gohan coughed up blood and wiped it with his arm. _He's unbelievably fast! I could barely even see him!_

A blur smashed into Gohan and Chi-Chi again, striking both of them at once and making them tumble from the sky. Mother and son crashed into the pavement and created a sizeable crater in the middle of the street. Gohan struggled to get to his feet as he was struck in the head by another strike by the Saiyan prince.

"Is that all you got?" Vegeta jeered. "If that is all, you Earthlings are even more pathetic than I thought. A shame that you didn't even manage to give me proper entertainment. You do not deserve to live."

Vegeta began to charge _ki_ into his hands to finish off Gohan when he was struck by two separate attacks that made him stumble forward. Behind him, a battered Piccolo and Chi-Chi stood with their hands out. Gohan's mentor was unstable on his feet and Gohan's mother looked exhausted due to her encounter with the Saibamen and Vegeta, but both of them held their ground as the prince turned towards them.

Chi-Chi stepped forward and glared at the Saiyan prince. "You _will not_ hurt my son. I will protect him even if that means I die."

"If you think we will just watch while you kill Goku's son, you're gravely mistaken," Piccolo added.

"Weaklings always rely on other weaklings, but the elites will always win," Vegeta said gleefully, surrounding his body with _ki_. "Watch carefully, Kakarrot's brat. Your mother and friend here will die while you lay there _helplessly_."

True to his words, Vegeta let out a yell as he immediately rushed towards the weakened fighters. Piccolo attempted to block Vegeta's rush but found his arm sliced cleanly at the elbow by Vegeta's strike. The short Saiyan slammed the Namek backward with a palm strike directly into his chest. However, before Vegeta could finish off the green alien, Chi-Chi intervened and attacked the Saiyan.

Chi-Chi's attackers were greatly slowed down due to her fights from before and Vegeta was also _much_ faster than Piccolo, Gohan, or Nappa. Her strikes were easily dodged and blocked by the Saiyan prince, his cocky grin never leaving his face. Once Chi-Chi was on the brink of collapse, Vegeta pushed her back and then pointed his index finger towards the woman. " _Bang Beam_."

A beam shot out of the Saiyan's index finger and struck Chi-Chi right in the chest. Gohan watched in horror as his mother collapsed in front of him, a gaping hole in the middle of her chest. " _No!_ "

"This is the difference between the elites and lower class scums like _you._ Now for the other one." Vegeta kicked the corpse of Chi-Chi and walked towards Piccolo's unconscious body. The Namek was not dead, but his _ki_ signature was weak and he had been unable to regenerate his arm due to his weakened state.

Gohan attempted to stand up to stop the Saiyan, but his arms and legs barely heeded to his call. _Damn it! Nothing has changed! I was weak in the past and I'm still weak now! And now, I have to watch the people I admire and love die without being able to do anything._

 _Hiro niisan,_ A voice whispered in his head. _I can't come out and help you right now, but I can give you the power of my consciousness. It should temporarily double your power level and help you buy more time._

A shudder went throughout Gohan's body as he felt a powerful sense of _ki_ approaching his position at rapid speed. _Is that?_

 _It's daddy! He's almost here!_ Real Gohan cheered. _We need to buy him more time! We can't let Piccolo die!_

 _Then do whatever you need to do give me more power, even if it's temporary. I'm not letting that bastard killing me without a fight_. "Gohan" urged his other self.

Suddenly, Gohan felt an incredible amount of power surge throughout his body. His focus sharpened as he felt an overwhelming amount of energy fill up his empty storages. He stood up and looked at his hands, which were crackling with energy. _Thanks, Gohan_.

 _You're welcome niisan! Now knock that bad guy dead! You're on your own for now._

"It seems like Kakarrot is almost here. I wonder what he will say when he finds his entire family and his friends dead?" Vegeta was about to say more but was struck by a speeding bullet from behind.

Gohan freed Piccolo from Vegeta's grasp and laid him down behind some nearby rubble. "Thank you _, sensei_. I won't let you down."

Vegeta growled as he stood up from the sudden attack. "Your father will take five minutes to get here. I will make those five minutes your last, son of Kakarrot. A shame you won't see your father's demise."

"I might die here, but I will make sure to weaken you enough for my father to kill you," Gohan replied. He quickly powered up _ki_ into his hands and poured out his energy into his attack. " _Reibimu!_ "

The thin and concentrated energy beam streaked towards Vegeta at its highest speed. The prince responded to the attack with a technique of his own. " _Galick Gun_."

Both attacks slammed into each other in the middle. Gohan's green beam struggled against Vegeta's purple ray, but neither side gave an inch as Gohan desperately pushed more energy into his hands while Vegeta continued his offensive. After a few intense seconds, Gohan began to feel his _ki_ reserves drop and his energy falter. _If I just had a bit more power, I can beat him!_

Gohan gave a small glance towards the corpse of his mother and the bloodied body of his fallen mentor. Those two had taught him to love _this_ Earth and despite everything, had done their best to provide for him. Piccolo was strict, but trained him to his maximum potential, offered him wise and motivational words, and was his partner in life and combat. He was battered and nearly killed in an attempt to protect him. His mother, Chi-Chi, had loved him and protected him regardless of the circumstances. She knew she was outmatched, but she fought Vegeta to direct his attention away from him and towards her, and died in the process.

His allies were sacrificing _themselves_ for him, not the other way around.

 _Weak. That's all you are_ _. That's all you'll ever be. Weak._

The half-Saiyan gritted his teeth as he fueled his attack with every remaining energy he had. Hate and anger vibrated throughout his body as he felt another shift in his power level. He didn't care _what_ he had to sacrifice at this point, he was going to _win_.

" _REIBIMU!_ " Gohan screamed as his attack suddenly became much more powerful. The green beam began to cut through Vegeta's _Galick Gun_ against all odds and began to change color, turning from green to teal.

"What is this _power_?" Vegeta shouted as Gohan's beam was on the verge of breaking through the purple blast. "Learn your place, you _third class, half-breed trash_ _!_ "

A massive explosion appeared where the two Saiyans were fighting each other, rocking the entire city with a massive earthquake and halting the battle between the remaining Z-Fighters and Nappa. Everyone looked in awe as a massive crater appeared where Gohan and Vegeta had been fighting. Gohan was on his knees, his _ki_ severely drained, while Vegeta barely managed to stand up. Somehow, Chi-Chi's body and Piccolo's unconscious form survived the blast and were thrown near each other towards the edge of the crater.

Nappa, his body weakened due to the constant attacks by the Z-Fighters, landed next to the prince. "Prince Vegeta, are you alright?"

Vegeta replied by spitting on the ground while weakly grabbing the Saiyan general for support. "That damn _half-breed_ brat managed to land a lucky shot on me, that is all. This time, I'll finish him."

"Back away from Gohan." A new voice stated firmly.

All the remaining warriors looked up and saw Son Gok floating in the air, his eyes filled with concern and controlled anger.

"Father." Gohan managed to mutter before he collapsed onto the ground.

* * *

Goku floated down onto the ground, landing directly next to his fallen son. He surveyed the destruction around him and his eyes laid sight of the fallen bodies of his wife and friends. He began to fly towards Chi-Chi, but Nappa jumped in front of him. "You'll meet the same end as your foolish comrades!"

The Earth raised Saiyan barely acknowledged the general as he slammed a fist into the stomach of the large man. Nappa was instantly blown backward and skidded _through_ the pavement, creating a trench in the street. Even Vegeta flinched at Goku's power.

For a moment, Goku was silent as he picked up the dead body of his wife and recovered the severely battered Piccolo. He flew back towards Gohan and gently laid both bodies near his son. His eyes watered as he looked at his fallen wife. "I'm sorry that I was late."

He pulled out two Senzu beans and fed them to Piccolo and Gohan. Both fighters immediately rose as their injuries were healed and their energy was replenished instantly. Gohan looked up to his powerful father and bowed his head. "I couldn't protect mom and couldn't defeat either of them. I'm sorry, father."

To Gohan's surprise, Goku patted his head softly and bent down towards his son. "It's not your fault. I should've come here earlier... If I was just a few minutes early, Chi-Chi would still be alive."

" _I_ convinced her to fight and now she's dead because of _my_ foolishness," Gohan replied bitterly. "I couldn't even protect her and _watched_ her die."

Piccolo, who was silent in an attempt to regrow his arm, stood up next to his student. "She made her own choice and you made yours. She died because she loved you and wanted to protect you, do not think that it was _your_ fault."

"If anything, it's the fault of these Saiyans. We'll revive her with the Dragon Balls, don't worry." Goku turned his head towards the prince, who was standing alone.

Vegeta scoffed at the sight in front of him. "Are you done having your family time?"

Goku ignored him and turned towards Tenshinhan, who was gripping his bleeding shoulder. "Where's Chaozu?"

"He's dead along with Krillin." Tenshinhan grimaced. "He blew himself up to stop Nappa from finishing me off."

"Chi-Chi, Chaozu, and Krillin. And nearly Gohan and Piccolo also." Goku muttered.

Suddenly, Nappa appeared from the ruins of the buildings and landed next to Vegeta. He looked worn out, but he was still emitting a strong amount of _ki_.

"Gohan, Piccolo. I need you to take down the big guy while I fight the little guy. I know you two can do it." Goku requested to the two rejuvenated warriors.

Student and mentor both nodded at the same time. "We won't hold back," Gohan promised.

Goku gave his son a faint smile before powering up and charging towards Vegeta. Piccolo and Gohan instantly followed suit and collided against Nappa, drawing the Saiyan general away from the fight between the Saiyan prince and the third-class Saiyan.

* * *

The son of Goku looked calm as he stood in front of his opponent. His extreme rage and anger from before were no longer present as Piccolo remained by his side.

"You're lucky you didn't finish your fight with me. If you did, you would've been dead." Gohan taunted. "Now, I'll finish this for the people you've killed today."

Nappa laughed at Gohan's remark. "You think that you can defeat me because you got _one_ lucky shot on Vegeta and managed to fight on even grounds with me while I was toying with you? You haven't seen anything yet, little brat."

Gohan went into a fighting stance and surrounded his body with _ki_. "I'll make sure you feel nothing but _pain_ before you die."

It was Piccolo that decided to rush out first wordlessly. The Namek crashed into Nappa at full speed, striking the general with his powerful legs. Gohan followed immediately with an attack towards the large man's back, firing a _ki_ blast towards his target.

The blast hit the general's back squarely, making Nappa scream in pain and rage. He didn't fall, but Gohan could see him unbalanced on his feet. General Nappa looked at his opponent with his expression full of pure hate as he powered up once again like before. "That will be the _last_ hit you and your friend land! There is no more holding back!"

"Good, because neither will we," Gohan replied, allowing his replenished _ki_ to flow through his body.

Nappa charged at Gohan first, his aura filled with killing intent. The little boy dodged the rapid punches of the general and countered with a barrage of punches of his own. Piccolo immediately came behind the general to flank him, but Nappa sensed his _ki_ and blocked Piccolo's attacks.

Both Piccolo and Gohan barely managed to block Nappa's attack, as the general pushed out a fist towards each opponent. Gohan rushed in towards the torso to utilize the opening that Nappa created, while Piccolo did the same towards the back side. Instead of being easily taken down, Nappa managed to block the combination attack with his speed. "Do you really think I'll leave an opening that easily?"

The half-Saiyan backed up and fired more _ki_ blasts towards Nappa while Piccolo attempted to hold down the Saiyan general. The blasts struck the giant, but also hit the nearby Piccolo. The Namek glanced at Gohan and gave a small nod to the boy. Gohan knew what his mentor was saying. Regardless of anything, Nappa had to be taken down _fast_ and they needed to assist Goku quickly.

From a distance, Gohan continued to fire more and more _ki_ bolts at the enraged Saiyan while Piccolo kept him busy. Each _ki_ blast barely managed to leave a mark on the tough skin of the bald fighter, but each blast also slightly weakened him. After several rounds of fighting with Piccolo and being struck by Gohan's attacks, Nappa looked exhausted as his speed and _ki_ levels dropped tremendously. He no longer looked like the confident warrior that had managed to push back the Z-Fighters. Instead, he looked more like a cornered animal that was fighting with its final breath.

Gohan rushed in to assist his teacher as the duo fought Nappa with overwhelming speed. The drained Saiyan general had resorted to defense but still struck his opponents to give himself some space. However, every time he threw his fist out to attack, Nappa created a small opening. Piccolo instantly recognized this and landed a clean blow to Nappa's head when the general attempted to strike Gohan.

The bald warrior staggered backward from the powerful blow as Gohan immediately took advantage of Piccolo's successful attack. " _Masenko_!"

A yellow ray launched out of Gohan's palms and flew straight into the Saiyan general. Gohan continued his attack even as Nappa was flown backward and shot through several buildings and houses. Piccolo stood by and watched his student blast the Saiyan with his arms crossed.

After several seconds of pouring out his _ki_ into the _Masenko_ , Gohan finally relented and halted his attack. The Namek and half-human flew towards where Nappa had landed, which was quite a distance away. Nappa had landed in a nearby park and was surrounded by scorched trees and craters as he stumbled onto his knees. The bald warrior was barely able to raise his head up towards the two Earthlings floating above him. "If I hadn't been _weakened_ by your friends before, I would've been able to easily defeat you."

"Save your excuses, _general,_ " Gohan said as he landed in front of his enemy. "This is the end for you."

Piccolo glanced over at Gohan, who looked poised to kill the man in front of him. "Do what you need to do, Gohan."

There was no mercy in Gohan's eyes as he gave one final look to one of the last Saiyans. " _Reibimu._ "

The concentrated beam struck the Saiyan general's armor and broke through it, cutting a hole into Nappa's heart and coming out the back. Nappa collapsed onto the ground with a large thud, the ground slightly shaking due to the beam.

Gohan looked over at the man he just killed. He had never _killed_ a man face to face. All the enemies he killed, if he killed any, in his previous life was from a distance away and he never knew _who_ he killed. Yet the first man he killed in this world, and perhaps the first man he had _ever_ killed, laid right in front of him. The man had died by his own hands. It felt strange and unreal.

He, as a 5-year-old, killed a much older man with his own power.

"Come on, Gohan. Your father will need our assistance against the _other_ Saiyan," Piccolo urged the boy.

The young boy nodded as he stared at the body one last time before flying away with his mentor.

* * *

"You should be honored to have an opportunity to fight me." Vegeta proclaimed confidently as he and Goku looked at each other in the middle of the fields. "A low-class trash like you don't get to fight an elite class warrior like me."

Goku had flown out of the city and lured the Saiyan prince in order to prevent further destruction to the civilian area and to prevent the rest of his allies from being hurt. Yamcha and Tenshinhan insisted that they came with him, but he turned them down. This was his fight and his fight alone.

The lower class Saiyan remained silent as the prince continued to talk. "Our strength is analyzed at birth and we are assigned different ranks and roles based on our strength. You were one of the lower class warriors, a Saiyan with barely enough power to be considered a "warrior." That is why you were sent to this pitiful dustball, a planet filled with weak humans that don't know how to use _ki_."

"True strength can't be measured. While you continue to talk, the warriors you fought before will only train harder to surpass you. Even a lower class like me can defeat the likes of you if they train hard enough. Nothing is undefeatable." Goku shot back.

Vegeta sniggered at Goku's remark. "You are foolish _and_ naive. There is no way you or any of the _pathetic_ humans on this planet can defeat me, the prince of all Saiyans."

"I guess I'll have to defeat you so that they have a chance to prove that you're wrong." Goku gripped his fists tightly and activated his _Kaio-Ken times Two_.

"There is nothing to prove. There are walls that you can _never_ climb over even with hard work, and I will be that wall you are unable to climb over." The prince replied as he went into his fighting stance.

The two warriors remained silent and inspected each other for a long minute. The air vibrated with energy and the clouds darkened as two Saiyans, both with very different backgrounds and heritages, emitted large amounts of _ki_. Finally, both warriors sprung into action at nearly the same time.

Goku's right fist collided into Vegeta's arm, unleashing a wave of wind. Vegeta grunted and replied with a punch of his own, aimed directly at Goku's muscular torso. The Earth warrior was thrown backward by Vegeta's attack, but immediately rebounded and struck the Saiyan prince's left leg.

Vegeta cursed as he was taken aback by the blow and lashed out with a roundhouse kick from his right leg. Goku managed to block the kick, but Vegeta quickly bore in and struck Goku's chin with an uppercut. The third class Saiyan's head snapped backward but instantly rushed forward as he headbutted his opponent directly on the forehead, making the Saiyan prince dazed for a moment. Goku slammed a punch into Vegeta's stomach and launched Vegeta into the ground.

A sizeable crater was created from Vegeta's crash landing and Goku floated above the Saiyan elite. "You shouldn't be treating me like a joke because I _will_ defeat you."

"Grr." Vegeta let out as he rose to his feet. " _Fine_. I will hasten your death if that is what you desire."

The prince of Saiyans shot out of the crater directly towards Earth's protector, his power output much higher than before. Suddenly, Goku found himself on the defensive, fending off the high-speed attacks of Vegeta. Despite being powered by his _Kaio-Ken_ , Goku was struck by a rapid punch into the chest and then kneed in the back as he found himself tumbling out of the air.

Even the rapid strikes by the prince were not enough to knock Goku out of the air, as the Earth raised Saiyan immediately shot back up and challenged Vegeta for supremacy. However, Vegeta easily dodged Goku's attacks and landed a solid blow on Goku's face. The strike finally managed to make Goku tumble out of the air.

As Goku struggled to get up, Vegeta kicked his fallen opponent and mocked him. "I treat you like a joke because you _are_ one. Your power is _nothing_ compared to mine. Too bad this will be the lesson you learn."

Confident of his abilities, the elite Saiyan warrior allowed Goku to rise back onto his feet. Instead of having an angry or worried look on his face, Goku looked at Vegeta with a grin. "You can really fight... Guess I have no choice then. _Kaio-Ken times Three!_ "

Vegeta stepped back as he felt Goku's power level spike once again. "What kind of _sorcery_ is this? Your power level can climb _higher_?"

"I'm not finished yet, Vegeta. You better not hold back." Goku surged towards Vegeta, his speed even faster than before.

With an ear shattering yell, Goku punched Vegeta's guard. Vegeta was pushed backward and before he could look up to see his opponent, Goku was already behind him and swept the prince's legs under him with a roundhouse kick. Before Vegeta could land on the ground, Goku launched an uppercut, throwing Vegeta into the air, and then punched Vegeta's stomach squarely.

When Vegeta landed, he coughed up blood and collapsed onto the ground from Goku's surprising display of power. "Damn you, half-breed! You will pay for making me _bleed_."

From his position, Vegeta charged up _ki_ into his hands and released the energy at Goku. " _Galick Gun!_ "

" _Kamehameha!_ " Goku quickly formed energy into his hands to counter Vegeta's attack.

Two beams met crashed into each other in the middle, creating an intense wave of air and whipping up dirt and rocks nearby.

"Your blast might look like mine, Kakarrot, but I am _far_ stronger than you!" Vegeta screamed as he continued to pour his strength into his purple beam.

Goku's feet began to crack the ground as the amount of energy he was sending and receiving was tremendous. "We're too evenly matched. I have no choice but to do this... _Kaio-Ken times Four!_ "

The _Kamehameha's_ power multiplied as the blue ray that was evenly matched with Vegeta's _Galick Gun_ suddenly overpowered the purple beam and headed towards Vegeta.

Vegeta gritted his teeth as he poured every bit of his _ki_ into his attack "I will not be struck _again_ by beams of you lowly Earthlings!"

His resistance to the attack was futile, as Goku's _Kamehameha_ broke through and blasted into Vegeta much like Gohan's _Reibimu_. The prince of Saiyans shot through the sky and went beyond the clouds, disappearing from sight.

Goku collapsed onto the ground with visible strains on his body. The _Kaio Ken_ had taken everything out of him and he was sitting at his limit. He barely registered the fact that two new _ki_ sources appeared nearby.

* * *

Gohan and Piccolo zipped across the sky, feeling the powers of the Saiyan elite and Earth's protector from a distance away. "Incredible. His power level has been steadily rising and it's definitely above everyone's power level."

"Your father is stubborn and powerful. Even the prince of Saiyans will have trouble dealing with him." Piccolo said as they approached the _ki_ signatures.

Goku's son wordlessly nodded, his attention focused elsewhere. His mind was racing with dozens of thoughts as he reflected on what had happened to him in the past few hours.

 _While I was fighting Vegeta, I felt my power levels spike up and my_ _ki increasing. I know you combined your powers with mine, but how did I manage to beat Vegeta's Galick Gun?_

Gohan's other personality was silent as Gohan remembered the real Gohan's parting words. _You're on your own for now._

 _Crap, did I kill him by draining his power?_ Gohan swore silently.

 _No. He is very much alive within you, but he's unconscious and drained for the time being._ A familiar voice popped into his head. _And the reason why you were able to overpower Vegeta for a brief moment is because of your emotions. Your hate and anger subconsciously drew more power from your body, powers that are dormant and stored away. The Saiyans are a very powerful race and emotions often allow them to grow stronger and increase their power levels in an instant._

 _Good to hear from you again, Hikari. Thanks for the information._ Gohan gave a small grin as he realized the owner of the voice.

 _Remember, I will help you in times of need and guide you along the way. But I will never intervene in your battles. You must learn to fight your enemies with your own strength. Also, do not rely too much on your "dormant" energy. It can only be used ever so often, and it even drains a bit of your life force._

Gohan grimaced as he heard this. _I'll do my best, Hikari._

 _Good luck. Remember, I trust that you'll make the right judgment regardless of the circumstances. Do what is right_.

As he began to ponder upon what Hikari had told him, Gohan felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see his mentor, who was looking a bit puzzled at his student. "Are you alright, brat?"

"I'm doing fine, why?"

"Well, you were making odd facial expressions and you were muttering to yourself," Piccolo stated matter of factly.

"I was conversing with Hikari, the being above Gods," Gohan replied.

 _That_ shook Piccolo's emotionless face more than their battle with Nappa and Vegeta. "You mean, you can just _talk_ to the being above all Gods in your head?"

Gohan nodded. "It's strange, but it's the truth."

The green alien grumbled under his breath and sighed. "Well, no matter. We're almost near the site of the battle. Be prepared to fight Vegeta and assist Goku."

"I've been ready ready since the beginning," Gohan replied back, increasing his flying speed a bit more to prove his point.

The Namek caught up to his speed with relative ease. "There is something I need to tell you before we face Vegeta, Gohan."

"What is it?"

"Your mother... She knew that you weren't her son." Piccolo admitted.

Gohan screeched to a halt as he stared at his mentor. "Y-You mean?"

"She knew. I told her because she asked on the first day. She noticed that your personality was radically different and that your reaction to her wasn't exactly the same as before. I asked her to keep it a secret, but she actually _did_ love you. Chi-Chi told me that you were still her son, regardless of who was in Gohan's body." The Namek explained to his student as they floated in the air.

The half-Saiyan was speechless as he absorbed this new piece of information.

 _She knew, but she still loved me_. The son of Goku and Chi-Chi thought as his body went numb. _She knew._

Piccolo allowed the conflicted child take his time, a slightly look of worry appearing on his face before disappearing almost immediately. Afterward, without any further words, the two flew on and arrived where Goku was. Both of them were surprised to see Goku by himself on the ground. They quickly rushed to his side and helped him up as Goku looked at the duo and smiled. "Good to see you both alive and well. Did you defeat the bald one?"

"Gohan killed him. Shot him straight in the heart with his technique," Piccolo revealed to the other Earth Saiyan. Surprise lit up Goku's face when he heard the news.

"He was too much of a threat and he was trying to kill us to the end," Gohan stated in his defense.

Goku didn't scold his son but patted the young boy on the shoulder instead. "You did well, Gohan. I'm proud of you. I always knew you were a true warrior."

The young son gave a small smile to the Earth raised Saiyan. "Thank you, father."

"Call me dad. You're being too formal," Goku said with a small laugh. "It doesn't feel right when you call me "father.""

"Ok... dad," Gohan hesitated when using the word because it was a word he hadn't used for a long time. It was foreign to him and he felt _strange_ trying to use that word.

Piccolo stepped in between the father and son duo and cleared his throat. "You can do this _after_ that prince is defeated. Where is he?"

"I blasted him into the sky, but he hasn't come down yet," Goku answered.

The Namek looked up at the sky and swore when he saw the full moon. "The full moon. Your brother mentioned something about Saiyans showing their "true self" once they are exposed to a full moon. That damned Saiyan might be planning something!"

Gohan didn't wait and immediately shot upwards into the sky, with Piccolo right behind him. Both of them shot through the clouds as they witnessed Vegeta laughing madly by himself.

"It's too late! The full moon will finally allow me to defeat that lower class scum!" Vegeta proclaimed as he slowly began to transform.

Piccolo hurriedly turned to Gohan and pointed his finger at Gohan's hands. Instantly, a sword was created. "We have a few seconds to take him down before he transforms. His weakness is his tail, so we'll have to cut it off. I'll do my best to keep him busy, but you _must_ cut off his tail. For all we know, he can kill us all in his transformed state."

Vegeta grew bigger and harrier as Piccolo charged and attacked him. Despite being only partially transformed, the prince still fought off the Namek's attacks. "You can not stop me! I am the _prince_ of all Saiyans and the _strongest_ being in this universe! Once my transformation is complete, I will kill Kakarrot and destroy this _treacherous_ mudball!"

A single strike from Vegeta's partially transformed state created a large airwave and emitted large amounts of energy. Gohan flew towards his teacher and the prince as they both fought each other desperately. Once Gohan was close enough, he went behind Vegeta and attempted to slice off his tail, but Vegeta turned around and attempted to know him out of the sky.

Knowing that he had little time left, Gohan yelled at his mentor. "Close your eyes, _sensei_!"

Immediately, Piccolo looked away as he knew what was coming. Gohan flew directly in front of Vegeta, who was trying to swipe at Piccolo. " _Taiyo-Ken!_ "

A bright flash of light blinded the Saiyan as he covered his eyes with his furry hands and screamed. " _Damn you brat! I will kill you!_ "

Swiftly, Gohan sliced off Vegeta's tail and powered up _ki_ into his hands. " _Masenko!_ "

The demon blast struck the prince straight in the torso and he plummeted towards the ground. Piccolo gave an approving smirk to Gohan as they followed the path of Vegeta's fall.

Vegeta landed on the ground _hard_. Gohan slightly winced as he heard several bones breaking and watched as the Saiyan prince move his arms uselessly. "I... I ca..can not be defeated! I am the strongest Saiyan!"

Gohan and his mentor landed next to their opponent, their conditions still fresh despite everything they've been through. "This is where it ends, _Your Highness_."

"Wait!" Goku shouted as he stumbled over to his two allies. "Don't kill him."

"What?" Piccolo snapped at the other full Saiyan. "He tried to _kill_ us. He destroyed an entire _city_. He _killed_ your _wife_. But you want to _spare_ him?"

Even Gohan looked at his father as if the warrior had grown another head. "If we spare him, he'll just try to kill us again!"

"He could try, but he won't be able to. I'm still stronger than him and I have both of you to help me protect Earth if anything happens. I just have a feeling about this one." Goku replied.

By then, Vegeta had passed out from his injuries and exhaustion. Gohan looked at the man who had killed many innocents, including his mother. He was so _helpless_ at this very moment. A single _ki_ shot could potentially kill him.

Goku grabbed the boy's shoulder firmly as he if knew what Gohan was thinking. "Trust me, Gohan."

The half-Saiyan clenched his fists as he glared at his father, and then the unconscious body. "How can you say that so calmly? This _demon_ killed thousands of innocent lives! He _killed_ mom! Piccolo is right! We should just kill him and get rid of this threat _once and for all_."

"Do you think I'm not angry about what he did to Chi-Chi?" Goku demanded. "I'm angry. Angry for all the lives he took today and for killing _my_ wife, your mother. I may not be showing it, but inside, I feel as if I've had a part of my soul ripped out of me. But he _can_ be redeemed and your mother can be revived with the Dragon Balls. Don't let your anger and hate cloud your judgment, Gohan. He's misguided, just like Piccolo once was."

"I was not misguided and I _still_ intend on defeating you one day," Piccolo mumbled. "I am still against keeping him alive, regardless of what you believe, Goku. Two Saiyans are enough on Earth. We don't need a self-centered, power hungry maniac like this one."

Both of the adults turned to the young boy, with Goku having a hopeful expression on his face. "Gohan, you decide then."

Gohan wanted to kill the murderer that was laying before him himself, but a single memory flashed back into his mind.

 _Remember, I trust that you'll make the right judgment regardless of the circumstances. Do what is right_.

The young boy sighed. "Let's take him alive."

Goku brightened at his words, while Piccolo merely frowned. "I'm not carrying him then. You do it, Gohan."

Gohan picked up the battered Saiyan with ease while Piccolo helped Goku fly. Together, the three of them, including a Saiyan prisoner, flew back towards the city.


	5. Preparations

An End and A Beginning

The terrifying battle between the warriors of Earth and the warriors from space was finally over. After taking the lives of thousands of innocent civilians and killing 3 Z-Fighters, the two might Saiyans were defeated. One died at the hands of Gohan, the half-Saiyan 5-year-old boy, while the other was taken captive by Goku and the others. Despite the stunning victory against the terrifying Saiyans, none of the Z-Fighters were celebrating as they silently mourned for their fallen comrades. Goku had especially been hit hard by the death of his wife at the hands of Vegeta and remained silent as everyone waited for Bulma and the others to arrive.

Bulma's hover copter landed at the destroyed downtown Metro East area. It landed next to the Z-Fighters, who had placed the bodies of the deceased Z-Fighters next to them. As soon as the copter landed, Master Roshi, Korin, and Bulma rushed out to greet the warriors that had defended Earth.

"Goku! Yamcha! Gohan! You're all alive!" Bulma cried as she rushed towards the fighters and hugged them. As she loosened her hug, she spotted the three dead bodies on the ground. "Oh no... Chi-Chi. Chaozu. Krillin. They're dead."

Piccolo crossed his arms and watched the reunion from a distance. "The monk and the little white one have already been revived with the Dragon Balls before. They can't be revived again."

Tenshinhan punched the ground in frustration. "I forgot that the Dragon Balls can't be used to revive people _twice_. Chaozu sacrificed his life for me and now I'll _never_ see him again."

"Krillin..." Goku muttered as he looked down at his dead friend.

"However, that doesn't mean we can't revive them." Piccolo mused. "I am an alien from the planet Namek. Since Kami is a Namekian also and can create Dragon Balls, perhaps the people from my planet have Dragon Balls that they created."

"He's right. The Namekians might have Dragon Balls that we can use to revive the ones that died! If they're really the original creators of the Dragon Balls, their Dragon Balls might be more powerful than the ones on Earth!" Gohan excitedly said. "Wait, can't we use the Dragon Balls we have right now to revive the ones that died today and save mom too?"

His mentor shook his head. "The Dragon Balls have scattered all over Earth now and they can not be used for another year. Even if we did get all the Dragon Balls right now, we would need to wait a year to fix all the damage."

Gohan let out a string of curses as he glared at the unconscious form of his mother's murderer on his shoulder, but dropped his gaze when his father looked at him. Goku, despite his weakened status, limped toward his son and took Vegeta off his shoulder. "I know you're still angry about your mother's death, but we can still save her. If we go the Planet Namek, we might be able to revive her earlier."

"I understand dad." But in reality, Gohan didn't. He was still angry and hated the prince of Saiyans with his entire heart. Piccolo had told him that his father was also a Saiyan and so, he was also half-Saiyan. Vegeta was the very opposite of Goku, showing no mercy and killing anyone he wanted in cold blood. Why was this man the _prince_ of his father's people while his father was considered a low-class warrior? The very idea that all Saiyans except his father acted like Vegeta sickened him to the core.

Bulma cleared her throat to catch the attention of the 5 living Z-Fighters. "I'll do everything I can to help you all get to the planet Namek, but there's a huge problem. We don't know where Namek _is_."

"I have a friend that help us with that," Goku said as he shifted the body he was carrying on his shoulder. "King Kai should know."

Yamcha looked at the Earth's protector with a puzzled expression. "Who is King Kai?"

 _I am King Kai. I trained Goku when he died._ A voice appeared in everyone's head as all the people present began to look around in confusion except Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan.

"King Kai, where is Namek? My friends and I need to travel over there in order to use the Namekian Dragon Balls." Goku asked out loud to the supreme being.

 _Ah, Namek. Yes. Let me look through my book, I'll find the address of the planet._ The sound of pages being flipped rang through everyone's head before finally stopping. _Here it is. Take direction SU83, then 9045 YX. Though it seems like the majority of the planet's population died out due to some planet-wide storm, something that humans would call "Armaggedon." However, let me see if there are any survivors_.

Gohan looked at the corpses of his ally as he silently prayed for a miracle. "Let's hope that some of them survived so they can help us."

The others nodded in agreement, though Piccolo gave his student an annoyed look. "They're my people. There is no way a simple _storm_ killed all of them." Gohan's mentor said this confidently but had a dark expression on his face.

 _It seems your green friend is right. There are more than a hundred survivors living on the planet as of now, but their population is stable and growing. They seem much weaker and much more subtle in nature than your friend there on Earth, so you shouldn't have a huge problem of asking to use the Dragon Balls._ King Kai claimed.

"So we can bring back Chaozu and Krillin!" Goku said happily as he accidentally struck his fist into Vegeta's unconscious face. The prince didn't even stir as he limply went back on Goku's shoulder.

"Easier said than done. It's going to take a _very_ long time for us to travel to Namek using Earth technology. I calculated that it'll take over 4000 years for us to get to Namek if we used some of my papa's spaceships." Bulma declared as she stuck a calculator out for everyone to see the numbers, making everyone gape in shock. "But, with the spaceships that the Saiyans left behind, we _might_ be able to shorten the trip. I have no guarantees, though so don't get your hopes up _just_ yet. Thankfully, I already told some workers to take the two ships away and store in back at Capsule Corporations."

Gohan let out a sigh of relief as he heard this. "I hope it doesn't take _too_ long. I don't want to be an old man by the time I go there and back."

Despite the situation, everyone let out a laugh as the tension died down. They _finally_ saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

Using Bulma's hover copter, the battered Z-Fighters were quickly airlifted to Capsule Corporations instead of the hospital. Bulma insisted that the technology at Capsule Corporations could fix them up faster than a hospital and that none of them were injured too badly. The occupants of the flying machine stared at the giant dome with the words "Capsule Corp" plastered on the front as the machine passed the dome and several other buildings before landing towards the back of the place Bulma called her home.

The group climbed out of their ride and entered the large building with Bulma at the helm. She guided the warriors to the basement level of the Capsule Corps building, where all the most advanced inventions made by the corporation was stored. The first room the group entered was a chamber filled with various large tanks with a strange blue liquid in them.

"These are Rejuvenation Tanks. They're in the prototype stage, but they should still work for basic injuries. They also replenish your _ki_ , so all of you will be feeling better in no time," Bulma announced to the group as he motioned for Yamcha to come forward.

Nervously, the scarred bandit obeyed. The blue haired scientist placed a mask onto Yamcha's mouth and pushed the man into the tank. The surprised fighter struggled for a few moments in the liquid before going slack. "That's supposed to happen. The liquid has regeneration properties, but they also put you in an unconscious state so that you don't break the tanks from the inside. If a person goes into the tank and breaks something in the inside, it might prevent them from coming out or, even worse, blow up the tank and kill the person."

Bulma looked at the timer on the tank. "He should be done in about an hour. There are two more tanks, so Goku and Tenshinhan should go into the tanks since they seem to have more injuries than Piccolo and Gohan."

"What about Vegeta? He might wake up any second and he might try to destroy us and the entire building." Gohan asked as he stopped his father, who was walking towards the tank with the Saiyan prince still hanging from his shoulders.

"We have some empty tanks, so I'll fill one of them up with some of the medical liquid and a _lot_ of sedatives to keep him asleep. Just drop him that empty tank over there and I'll get to him right away." Bulma said as she pointed to one of the empty tanks in the corner.

The conscious Saiyan dumped his compatriot into the empty tank and then walked back to Bulma. Goku finally entered one of the tanks and became unconscious as he floated in the blue liquid. Tenshinhan immediately followed and began to recover within the confines of the tank. After the three warriors were safely within the tanks, Bulma turned to the remaining student and teacher duo. "You can use the tanks after them if you want."

"I think I'll be fine. The Senzu bean from earlier helped me recover my strength. I'll probably just need some rest and food in order to recover fully," Gohan said as he politely refused the offer.

Piccolo crossed his arms as he stiffly looked at the other warriors within the tanks. "I don't need any healing."

"Alright then. I'll take you all to the lounge area while we wait for the others to recover." Bulma said with a wink as she dragged the two out of the basement and onto the ground level. The trio entered a spacious room with several couches, a table with chairs, a massive TV, and a small kitchen. "There's some snacks in the pantry and drinks in the refrigerator. I'll come back after I deal with the other Saiyan and cook all of you an actual meal."

After Bulma closed the door and left the room, Gohan turned to his mentor as Piccolo looked at his student with a knowing expression. "All the things that have happened in the past few months is frying my brain."

"You mean, the Dragon Balls, aliens, and everything else?" Piccolo asked the young boy with a small smirk on his face.

"On my old Earth, none of these things existed and now, I come to this Earth and find things that shouldn't be possible. Magic balls that can grant any wishes, aliens that try to destroy Earth, and people using superpowers. It's like a really cheesy science fiction movie." Gohan said as he walked up to the kitchen. He took out several energy bars and feasted upon his findings. Even though he was a completely different person on the inside, his body was still that of a half-Saiyan boy with extremely high metabolism.

The Namek looked at his student with interest as Gohan gulped down entire bars whole. "You mean Dragon Balls and the such didn't exist in your world?"

Gohan shrugged. "They might have existed, but I have no idea if they actually did. I've never heard of the Dragon Balls before I came to this world and our world had never had any encounters with aliens."

"None of the people on this Earth have encountered aliens either except you, your father, and your friends. I'm sure if they did encounter aliens, they would try to create spaceships to travel instead of dwelling on this planet." Piccolo responded. His student gave a small respectful nod before he opened the refrigerator and drank several bottles of water in succession. "Just how much can you eat and drink?"

"No idea, but that fight with Nappa and Vegeta _definitely_ has made me hungry and thirsty." The half-Saiyan said as he drained another bottle.

Suddenly, Bulma rushed into the room and grabbed both Piccolo and Gohan in the arm. "Come with me! There's an emergency!"

Piccolo escaped the grip of the blue haired woman and instantly rushed for the door. "Has Vegeta escaped? Damn that Goku! I told him that we should have killed the blood-thirsty Saiyan!"

"That's not it!" Bulma shouted impatiently. "The emergency is at our front door! A bunch of soldiers and police officers are at the gates of Capsule Corp! I don't know what's happening, but it doesn't seem too good."

The green alien stared at Bulma with annoyance. "That isn't a problem. It's more of a nuisance. None of the humans out there could even hurt us."

Bulma fumed at the Namek. "Still! Come with me outside so you can back me up if there's a problem."

Gohan and Piccolo reluctantly followed the woman out the front door and towards the front main gates of the large building. True to Bulma's words, there were hundreds of soldiers and police officers amassed outside the gate. There were several helicopters flying around and a tank was positioned behind the troops as if there was great danger within the Capsule Corp.

The daughter of the Capsule Corp president marched out the gate, with the two warriors directly behind her. None of the police or soldiers present fired at the people that came out of the Capsule Corp building, but everyone began to murmur between themselves when they saw the Demon King Piccolo calmly follow the Capsule Corp heir.

"Why are there soldiers and police officers in front of my house?!" Bulma screamed at one of the officers.

Her screaming made several of the soldiers flinch as an officer came to the blue haired girl and greeted her. "I'm sorry, Ms. Briefs, but this is all a security precaution after today's attack at Metro East. An important guest is coming to greet you personally and we have to make sure that the people that destroyed Metro East don't kill the guest."

Bulma glared at the officer, giving an annoyed look at the man. "Who is this guest?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Briefs, but that information is classified. You'll know who he is once he arrives." The officer replied with an apologetic look.

The young half-Saiyan looked at both Bulma and Piccolo with a curious look, but neither of them seemed to have an idea who the "guest" could be. Bulma caught his glance and turned to him. "If papa was home, I could understand. Papa is quite rich and famous and often has important people over at our house, but papa isn't home right now. He's attending some inventor's fair with mama."

After several long minutes with Bulma impatiently gazing at the soldiers in front of her house, a motorcade consisting of several limousines and police motorcycles streamed through the awaiting soldiers and police officers. The lead car stopped halted before the trio and several men in suits and sunglasses swiftly exited the vehicle and stood guard around the limo. One of the bodyguards opened the back door to let out the important guest that everyone had been waiting for.

Gohan inspected the guest that stepped out of the car. The guest wasn't human like the young boy had expected, but was instead a dog that was barely taller than him. He had on a black tuxedo, complete with a red tie and blue vest. The dog also had a small pair of spectacles on his nose and his nose sniffed the air as he stepped out of the car. _He doesn't look that important..._ Gohan silently thought as he crossed his arms like his mentor, looking completely unimpressed and uninterested at the sight before him.

However, Bulma had a completely different reaction than Gohan and Piccolo. She quickly went up to the dog and bowed. "King Furry! It is an honor to meet you, your highness!"

 _That dog is a king?_ Gohan gaped as he bowed towards the dog. _Then again, nothing should surprise me in this world. Magic balls, dragons, aliens. A dog king seems quite normal compared to everything else._

"Please, Ms. Briefs. No need to be so formal towards me. Your father and I are close friends." King Furry stated as he returned the bow with one of his own. "I hate to intrude on anything you're doing, but may I enter your home? I believe I have some important things to _discuss_ with your parents."

"Papa isn't here right now. He's attending an inventor's fair downtown right now." The blue haired girl replied. Gohan had a sinking feeling on _why_ the dog king was here, but he prayed that he was wrong.

King Furry's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned in towards the daughter of the genius inventor and lowered his voice. "Then do you possibly have any connections with the spaceships and aliens that landed in Metro East today? Some of the surviving soldiers from the battle at Metro East claimed that they saw a Capsule Corp copter land in the city and whisk off the small spaceships, along with a dozen strange men that included one of the aliens that they claimed destroyed the downtown area."

Bulma looked surprised at the king's remarks and her face flushed as she answered. "Ah, well..." She looked at Gohan and Piccolo for assistance, to no avail. "I guess I can explain it inside. But please, do not bring any of your bodyguards or the such. It's a _very_ important and private matter."

"That won't be a problem, but are you sure I will be safe?" King Furry nervously said as he gave a quick look to Piccolo. "If the reports are correct, you have aliens within your house and the Demon King himself is right next to me."

Piccolo let out a small growl and the king back up a few steps, to the Namek's amusement. "I will not hurt you if you don't do anything stupid."

Bulma gave the green alien a dirty look and smiled at the king. "You'll be completely safe. Don't worry."

Despite some doubts in his eyes, King Furry nodded. "Then let us enter."

* * *

The group entered the lounge area and Bulma served the king some tea as they went straight down to business. For a good half an hour, Bulma explained everything to the king: from the Dragon Balls to the Saiyans arriving in Metro East to conquer Earth and use the Dragon Balls. Strangely, the king of Earth seemed rather unfazed by Bulma's tale. He calmly took in the information and occasionally asked a few questions to clarify some events and facts. When the young scientists finished, King Furry seemed to have a newfound respect towards Piccolo and Gohan that sat on the side as they remained quiet throughout the entire affair. "So the Demon King and this little boy defeated the alien that destroyed an entire army _and_ a city?"

"He wasn't as impressive as you might think. In terms of human strength, he is invincible, but my student is not exactly human and he is powerful." Piccolo said flatly as he looked at the leader of Earth distastefully.

King Furry's enthusiasm deflated a bit as he looked at Piccolo with a nervous look. "But still. You and your friends should be properly awarded for your actions! You saved _all_ of Earth from an alien invasion and prevented them from attaining unimaginable power! I'll have an awards ceremony arranged right away so that all of Earth knows of what you did today!"

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, King Furry, but I don't think we _exactly_ have the time for that. You see, Goku and his friends need to go to the planet Namek to revive the ones that died today. The Dragon Balls can't revive people that have died twice already, so we're planning to visit the original creators of the Dragon Balls to see if we can use theirs to revive our friends." Bulma explained cautiously.

"I see." King Furry said as he calmed down a bit. "After listening to your story, I have something to offer to the warriors that defended Earth today. It has become evidently clear after today that there are threats to Earth that I or my military can not stop, such as the Demon King and aliens. If Earth is attacked by aliens or other creatures, I have no means to stop them without the help of you warriors. So I intend to make your group officially a part of the Earth's military if you choose to accept."

Gohan looked intrigued at the king's words as he leaned forward. "You want us to become part of your military and heed all your commands?"

The king waved his hand at the remark. "No no no! Your group will be a _completely_ autonomous group from the regular army and the such. However, if you choose to accept, I intend to allow your group to have full control over whatever you do, but with certain benefits."

"Such as?" Piccolo grumbled, clearly not convinced of the king's words.

"All of Earth's resources at your disposal, a _very_ high pay, and my personal guarantee that you will remain anonymous. You'll be free from any media attention and the public while being able to fight the threats that are too powerful for our own military to deal with. A type of special forces, if you will." King Furry offered.

 _Sorta like the Justice League... Except all of us pretty much have the same powers_. "I think we should discuss this with the others after they recover from their injuries." Gohan liked the idea but didn't want to leave out the opinions of the others who also played huge parts in the battle against the Saiyans.

"Speak of the others, I think they're done with their time in the Rejuvenation Chamber. I'll go get them to see if they agree with your proposal, King Furry." Bulma waltzed out of the room and headed towards the basement, leaving the two warriors and the king awkwardly by themselves in the room.

King Furry's face clearly showed that he had many questions in mind, yet he kept on giving small, quick glances towards Piccolo. Gohan rolled his eyes and spoke to the uncomfortable king. The young Saiyan knew why the king was nervous, because Piccolo had told him about his past, and was amused looking at King Furry's reaction. "You can ask me any questions. I know my mentor is intimidating and tried to take over the Earth, but he's changed quite a lot since then."

"Mentor?" King Furry said as he shot a funny look at the impassive Namek.

The half-Saiyan nodded. "Piccolo is my mentor, he taught me everything that I know about fighting. He might act tough and powerful, but he's a good-hearted individual deep inside."

Piccolo snorted. "You make me sound soft brat."

The king loosened up slightly as he gave his full attention to Gohan. "Do you think there are beings out there that desire to take over Earth like the Saiyans you fought today?"

Gohan looked up thoughtfully and answered. "Quite possibly. I don't think Vegeta is alone out there in the universe. And since we now know that there's another planet filled with aliens, it's quite possible that there are powerful aliens out there that can invade Earth."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that, but I guess I shouldn't be _too_ surprised." King Furry muttered as he took a long sip of his tea. "But to think that you, a boy no older than _six_ , defeated an alien that decimated my military. It makes sense since you're the son of Goku."

At hearing Goku's name, Piccolo looked slightly annoyed, but Gohan gave a small smile towards the king. "Thank you, King Furry."

Just then, the other warriors walked in, looking much fresher than before. All the visible cuts and bruises were gone and the fighters looked the same as they did before they went off to battle, except with a few changes of clothing. Tenshinhan wore a green shirt and joggers, while Yamcha wore a baseball shirt with the number 5 on the back and a pair of jeans. The only person that hadn't changed was Goku, who was still wearing his battered orange _gi_. Goku went up to the king and smiled. "It's good to see you again!"

"Good to see you again, Goku." King Furry answered as he furiously shook the man's hand. "Did Bulma explain the proposal that I gave to all of you while you were coming here?"

"Yep! I think it's a good idea, what do you think guys?" Goku asked as he turned to the others.

Tenshinhan was silent for a moment before answering. "I have no objections. It'll be the same as before, except with the backing of the king and the government. I see no reason why we shouldn't take this offer."

"If Tien agrees, so do I. Though we better have some cool uniforms." Yamcha continued with a grin.

All eyes turned to Piccolo, who merely closed his eyes as if he was trying to erase everyone in the room from existence. "Do what you want, but I will not join this _foolish_ group. I am not bound by anyone or anything, I am the Demon King Piccolo!"

Gohan sniggered at Piccolo's statement. "He'll accept sooner or later, King Furry. Don't mind him."

His teacher glared at him but remained silent as King Furry nodded enthusiastically. "Fantastic! Then I officially authorize the creation of the "Earth Special Forces." You will be called in times of need, though you'll probably spot any threats to Earth before I or anyone else can spot them. I'll have everything settled in order after you return from your visit to the other alien planet."

With that, the president was escorted out of the house by Bulma and within minutes, the amassed forces in front of Capsule Corps were cleared.

"Well, that was unexpected. I did not expect the _king_ of Earth to visit," Bulma said as she went back into the lounge area and sank to the floor.

"Um, Bulma... What about the spaceships?" Gohan casually mentioned.

Bulma immediately shot up from the floor. "Right! The spaceships! I'll take a look at it and my dad should be able to build something bigger and better out of it!"

After Bulma left, the fighters all looked at each other silently. Amidst the silence, large growls began to echo throughout the room as everyone looked at the small kitchen in the corner. The same thought ran through nearly every single fighter except Piccolo as they approached the kitchen and tore it apart.

* * *

 **A day later...**

The members of the Earth Special Forces stayed in the Capsule Corps dome overnight, awaiting for Bulma and her father to make progress on the spaceships that were recovered from the battle. There were plenty of extra guest rooms in the huge building, so all of the fighters had their own room for the night. Most of the Z-Fighters passed out fairly quickly, with the exception of Piccolo and Gohan, who meditated and sparred most of the night.

When everyone woke up, mainly by Bulma's yelling, they all gathered in one of the private garages that the Briefs used for inventions and experiments that they wanted to hide from the public's eye. Inside the garage, they found a strange looking object, along with the more familiar Saiyan spaceships, parked on the garage side to side. Bulma's father, Dr. Briefs, was already dissecting one of the Saiyan spaceships and analyzing them while his pet cat Scratch played with some of the tools on one of the work tables.

"Is that thing a _spaceship_ , Bulma?" Gohan asked the blue haired girl who greeted her father with a hug.

Bulma nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! You see, one of Kami's attendant that looks like a genie named Mr. Popo said that he might have found a spaceship. Apparently, it's Piccolo's old house and it happened to actually be a spaceship. King Kai mentioned that there was a huge disaster on Namek, so it's possible that Piccolo managed to escape the destruction by riding on that spaceship and coming to Earth. It needs to be modified a bit since the ship's computer can only understand Namekian and it doesn't have any of the necessary equipment needed for the trip. But, we can get to Namek in just 3 weeks with this spaceship!"

Dr. Briefs, who had been busy working on the spaceships and barely acknowledged the Z-Fighters, also spoke without looking up from his work. "The Saiyan spaceships are quite interesting also. I believe I can replicate something similar to these ships and place them on the main ship as some sort of escape pods back to Earth if something goes wrong on Namek. "

"How long will it take for the ship to be ready?" Goku asked the old inventor as a spark flew out of the circuit he was working on.

"Hmm... I plan to install a Gravity Room to assist with your training, along with a lounge area, a proper kitchen, and a _very_ nice stereo. Along with the escape pods I'm making, the ship should be ready in about two weeks."

"Two weeks should be plenty for us to get ready and train a bit more." Gohan piped up because he saw his father about to make a complaint, and he did _not_ want the inventor to be irritated or angered.

Goku was about to object despite his son's interjection, but Bulma quickly pulled his ears, making him squirm with pain. "Thanks, papa. I'll come back in a little while to help you."

"No problem. I find this all _very_ exciting. My life has been a bit dull recently, I could use a bit more excitement." Dr. Briefs went inside the ship and disappeared.

The others stepped out of the garage and went back into the main building to discuss the plans for the upcoming voyage to Namek. Gohan was quite excited at the prospect of journeying to an alien planet and immediately volunteered when the group discussed who to send to Namek. "I'm definitely going to go."

Piccolo slowly raised his hand right after Gohan's outburst. "I will be going regardless of what all of you say. This is _my_ home planet you are visiting, and I have every right to go back to my home world. Plus, the brat will need someone to keep on teaching him."

"Hey, I'm going too! I can teach Gohan!" Goku complained as he stepped forward. "You taught him well while I was gone, but now that I'm here, I can personally teach him everything like the _Kamehameha_!"

"You may be powerful, but you're definitely not qualified to be a _teacher_. What Gohan needs is proper mentorship by a warrior that can both fight and strategize, _not_ a fighter that recklessly charges into each battle and has no teaching experience _at all._ "

The son of Goku and the student of Piccolo stepped in between the two that were staring each other down. "I can train with _both_ of you. Dad, you might be a strong fighter, but Piccolo is also right. He's really powerful and he's taught me a lot of things. We can make a schedule and work this out without fighting."

Both of them didn't look satisfied but backed down for the time being. Bulma, Tenshinhan, and Yamcha looked at this exchange with amusement and when asked if they would be going to Namek, all of them shook their head.

"If the journey takes longer than expected, then we'll need someone to stay behind on Earth and revive the people that died at Metro East and Chi-Chi." Bulma reasoned.

Yamcha sheepishly grinned and scratched the back of his neck. "I'll stay behind with Bulma, in case something goes wrong or some other aliens decide to attack."

"As will I. I'll be assisting Bulma and Yamcha here on Earth. You three can go ahead and journey to Namek. It shouldn't be a problem with all three of you since you're the strongest fighters on Earth." Tenshinhan stoically said.

Bulma cleared her throat as the attention focused on her. "About that... You might want to take one more person with you."

All of them looked confused as Goku asked the looming question. "Who?"

"The Saiyan that's currently being kept in the basement," The blue haired girl said with a worried expression on her face. "He's being sedated right now, but Saiyans _apparently_ have insane recovery rates. At this rate, I'll have to fill the entire tank up with sedatives, and even _that_ won't keep him drugged for long. I'll give it about a week, tops, before he finally wakes up and attempts to destroy Earth again."

Goku didn't share the same worry as Dr. Brief's doctor and merely pounded his fists. "Maybe I can fight him again before we leave."

Gohan sighed as he shook his head. "That's probably not a good idea. He might be angry at losing the fight and attempt to destroy everything in his path. Even if we manage to stop him, he might blow up half of this city before we manage to beat him. It's probably better for us to prepare for the worst and try to talk to him in coming with us to Namek. He's a powerful fighter and he seems to know more about the Namekians and Namek than we do, so it's better for us to have him as an ally than an enemy."

"We can't keep him on Earth since we will be gone and we have _no_ idea what the Saiyan might pull off. So I agree with the brat's idea, even though I find the idea of having him as an ally... _distasteful_." Piccolo crossed his arms and glanced downwards as if he could see the Saiyan prince through the floor. " _However_ , we will still need to prepare to fight him if he gets _overly aggressive_ when he is released. Goku, Gohan, and I can take him down if we worked together, but we'll need to train harder to be able to take him on individually if things get out of hand. The problem is, we only have a week to prepare."

The strongest fighter on Earth slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. "I think I know just the place that we might be able to train at! There's this place at Kami's Lookout called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber where a single day here is a year in the chamber. We can train in there as long as we need to and we'll be _much_ stronger by the time we come out. The gravity, temperature, and air pressure are all a lot different in the chamber, so we should be able to train for _anything_ that's coming at us."

Piccolo looked interested in Goku's every word as his usually passive face was warped into a one of excitement. "Excellent. That will _definitely_ be useful to us. Finally, a good suggestion by Goku."

"Hey! I'm very smart! Look at Gohan, he's really smart and he's my son!" Goku cried as he gave a soft pat to his son's head.

"It seems like he took all the smart genes from your family." Piccolo snickered as he silenced the Earth's protector. "Now, we should visit this chamber before we argue all day."

* * *

The trio flew towards the Kami's Lookout in order to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. When they arrived, they were greeted by Kami and Mr. Popo, as if they were expecting the warriors to come to them. "Welcome, all three of you. I assume that you've come for the chamber?"

"Yep! We need to train so that all three of us are stronger than Vegeta! Since we only have two weeks, we decided to come here and use the chamber." Goku cheerfully said as he flashed a grin towards the God of Earth.

Kami nodded and gestured to Mr. Popo. "I see. Well then, Mr. Popo will guide you to the chamber and you may use it as long as you want. But do remember that you can only enter twice and the maximum amount of time you can stay in the chamber in a row is two years, or you'll be forever trapped within the chamber. Try not to destroy the entrance either, or you'll be stuck in there."

"I remember the rules. Thanks, Kami!" Goku said with a wave as he and the others followed Mr. Popo to the chamber. The entrance of the entrance to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was quite impressive as if it was a miniature palace. Before they could enter, however, the black genie stopped them. "Only two can enter at a time. There are only enough provisions for two people inside."

"It will not be a problem." Piccolo insisted as he pushed Mr. Popo aside. "I do not need to eat and I can create any clothes or equipment that I may need. Now let us enter through the doors."

Mr. Popo simply nodded as he opened the doors of the chamber for them. The three fighters entered and disappeared out of sight.

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 ** _XIX-Phantom:_** _I've fixed that part. Thank you for pointing that out (completely forgot)._

 ** _Alpha Shenron:_** _A little bit of both. Gohan was a much stronger than the Canon Gohan by the time he fought against Nappa and Vegeta. During the fight, he was beaten up and drained (his attack on Vegeta only managed to hit because his power level increased dramatically for a short amount of time due to his overflowing anger), but he defeated Nappa in the end because of the whole "beaten up, recover, get stronger" Saiyan thing. Let's not forget the fact that in most battles, Gohan had the help of Piccolo, who is also slightly stronger than Canon at this point. _

**_Trunkssan766:_** _The power level for Nappa on arriving Earth is 4,000, according to the Dragonball Wiki. In the canon, Gohan's power level is around 2,800 when he's angry. However, due to the improved training early on, Piccolo's assistance, the Saiyan thing mentioned above, and Nappa being weakened due to his earlier fights (power level dropped to around 2,500), Gohan was easily able to match up against Nappa and overwhelm him._

 _ **Lazymanjones96:** Thank you! I'm putting quite a lot of effort into this story. Hopefully, it reaches the followers well :)_

 _Here's a basic breakdown of everyone's power levels after the battle:_

 _Goku (Without Kaioken):_ _25,000_

 _Gohan:_ _10,000_

 _Gohan_ _(Enraged):_ _20,000_

 _Piccolo : 18,000_

 _Vegeta:_ _22,000_

 _As always, feel free to comment and criticize in the review section._


	6. Journey to Namek

An End and A Beginning

Bulma nervously slammed her fingers into the keypad that controlled the Rejuvenation Chamber, adding another different dose of tranquilizer into the tank filled with blue liquid. Despite her best efforts, one of the greatest threat that Earth had ever faced was about to awaken once again. She had done her best to keep the warrior dormant, putting enough major tranquilizers to stop a bear dead in its track. Yet, the Saiyan prince was slowing building up an immunity to every drug she had to offer. It wouldn't be long before the prisoner would become conscious of his surroundings and attempt to destroy her basement, her house, and her world.

"Damn it to hell!" She gritted her teeth as the computer screen began to flash numbers. The Saiyan prince's heartbeat and brain activity began to pick up. "If Goku and the others don't come soon, we're going to be in a _lot_ of trouble."

Ignoring the signs on her computer, the blue haired scientist rushed out of the basement and into the backyard. Her backyard was large, containing a huge greenhouse, a beautiful garden that her mother personally cared for, and a spacious grass area about the size of a football field. She found Yamcha and Tenshinhan training vigorously by themselves, who were carefully avoiding the garden and greenhouse on Bulma's strict orders.

Yamcha was the first to notice the newcomer's presence as he ducked under Tenshinhan's punch and turned to the girl with a smile. "Bulma! What brings you out here? Are you here to check out our training? I think I've gotten a bit more muscular since last time, don't you think?"

The scarred ex-bandit flexed his biceps and would've made Bulma laugh if the situation wasn't serious. "I don't think those muscles would help against the Saiyan that's hibernating in our basement… Or about to wake up from his hibernation, that is."

Immediately, the playful and teasing look on Yamcha's face disappeared, only to be replaced by an expression of pure terror. "T-That Vegeta dude? I thought you had him t-tranquilized!"

"Well, he's resisting _everything_ I'm throwing at him! It won't be long before he wakes up and goes on a rampage!" Bulma kicked the ground in frustration.

Tenshinhan looked a bit more calm to the revelation. "We need to contact the others, immediately. Even Yamcha and I combined can not defeat that monster."

"I've already asked Mr. Popo if he can pass the message onto them, but _apparently_ , they left _six_ days ago after using the Hyperbolic Space Chamber and flew off somewhere! They're probably out there training, completely forgetting the fact that I told them the Saiyan will break out around this time!" Bulma glared at the sky as if she was cursing Kami himself.

"They'll come back in time. Piccolo is with them, and he's certainly reasonable." Tenshinhan stated as he looked at the blue haired girl's frustration with amusement. "If not, we can delay the Saiyan as long as we can to give the others time to come back. They'll definitely notice the ki level of the Saiyan once we start fighting."

Bulma sighed as she had already given up. "Sure, you might be able to delay him and minimize the destruction. But the _spaceships_ are in the garage, right next to the house! If the Saiyan prince wakes up and goes on a rampage, he'll destroy the house, the spaceships, _and_ all of us!"

The two fighters that were standing in front of her came to a moment of realization and immediately began to fly into the sky. Yamcha called down to the heiress of the Capsule Corps below. "We'll go look for them in the places where they usually would be. If the others aren't here, we have no chance anyways so might as well go look for them!"

"That won't be necessary." A new voice stated.

Bulma and the other guests of Capsule Corps turned around to see the source of the voice. A single figure exited the back entrance of the house and entered the backyard. The figure was flanked by two other people, a taller green man and a much shorter boy. Everyone let out a sigh of relief was they realized the figure was Goku, instead of the dreaded alien invader. Behind him was Piccolo and Gohan, who were looking fresh and confident.

"Goku!" Bulma cried out as she rushed towards the larger man and threw a punch. "Do you know how much trouble and damage you would've caused if you came a little later?"

The former world champion gave his usual, innocent grin and dodged the girl's punch. "Piccolo and Gohan reminded me over and over again about having to come back today, so I remembered. Don't worry Bulma, you're safe now."

Yamcha's right eyebrow shot upwards as he crossed his arms and inspected the three arriving warriors. "You three don't look that much different than before. Your ki levels feel about the same too. Are you sure you three have been training?"

Goku's reply was only a small grin. He motioned for Gohan to come towards him and the young boy strutted forward.

" _Kiai_!" Gohan yelled as _ki_ erupted out of his body. An unbelievable amount of energy surrounded the boy and shot out around him, making the nearby trees and flowers shake from the wind that came with the _Kiai_. Even Tenshinhan and Yamcha covered their faces with their arms as they looked at the small boy with awe. The power level was completely different from just a week ago.

"See? We'll be alright." Goku announced, giving his only son a pat on the head.

* * *

Vegeta was trapped in his own dreams, an endless loop of the worst moments of his past playing through his mind. His eyes couldn't look away as the memories played out like a recording in front of him.

His nightmares were always the same. It consisted of his failures, the one thing he dreaded the most in the universe. He respected and even despised things that were more powerful than him, such as Frieza, but he never _felt_ afraid in his life. Frieza was much more powerful than him, yet he knew that one day, he would kill Frieza and take his rightful place as the most powerful being in the universe. Despite this, he constantly feared the idea of failure. He was a Saiyan, failure was not an acceptable option.

In his unconscious state, Vegeta relived some of his past failures. His failure to defend his father from the God of Destruction Beerus. His failure to do anything when his home planet was destroyed. His failure to escape from the clutches of Frieza and become free.

Perhaps that's why he hated Kakarrot and his "friends" so much. He loathed seeing a fellow Saiyan, a lower class Saiyan, disregarding his past failures and instead living freely without any hint of remorse for his past. Kakarrot was the very opposite of himself, a Saiyan prince and warrior. And instead of Vegeta being victorious against the upstart and carefree failure, he was defeated by the very man that held the values the Saiyan prince despised.

He wanted vengeance. He wanted _revenge_. But just like against Frieza, he wasn't strong enough to face the Earth raised Saiyan. That very idea made him nauseous. A _Saiyan Prince_ like him shouldn't have been defeated by a _low-class scum_. But deep down inside, he knew that Kakarrot was stronger than him. He and his friends were _much_ stronger.

That was his greatest nightmare.

As he silently contemplated on how to defeat the lower class Saiyan, Vegeta felt a sharp spike in power somewhere outside his mind. He could barely feel the ki in his state, but it was a familiar ki that he had felt before.

Kakarot's brat _ki_. He was definitely sure of it. Judging by the sheer amount of _ki_ being released and the fact that he could feel it in his unconscious state, he could estimate that the brat's power levels were much higher than before.

While he was sitting alone in his mind, his enemies were growing stronger. Who knew how long it had been since he had opened his physical eyes?

Vegeta couldn't allow his enemies to grow any stronger. He had to escape and become _powerful_. Powerful enough to put the lower-class Saiyan in his place and to prove that he was superior. Failure was not an option.

With all his strength, he willed his mind back into his body. Vegeta screamed for his body to wake up. His mental body shook violently as he concentrated on placing himself in his physical body. Even while he was making an effort to make himself conscious, his memories replayed in front of him. When he saw the moment when he had been put down by Frieza due to his skirmish with Guldo, his mind finally snapped. A white flashed blinded him as Vegeta was swept away from his prison into some place else.

When Vegeta could finally open his eyes again, he was floating in liquid and trapped in another prison, this time made of glass. A mask surrounded the lower part of his face, most likely allowing oxygen to flow into his body while he was surrounded by the blue liquid. His arms and legs felt extremely heavy as if he had several tons attached to his limbs. He urged his _ki_ to awaken within him, but his body barely responded. A small _ki_ orb was formed in his left palm before fizzling out completely.

He let out a string of curses in Saiyan, his vision blurring out in front of him. His body was weak, but his mind willed himself to stay awake. However, even willpower wasn't enough to hold himself together as his line of sight continued to fade away.

The last thing he saw was his archnemesis entering the room he was in, along with a female, before he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

"DAMN YOU KAKARROT!" Vegeta screamed as he awoke with a start.

Someone held him down and slapped a towel onto his face. "Calm down... Are all Saiyans this energetic?"

The Prince of All Saiyans turned to the feminine voice and came face to face with a blue haired girl with an annoyed look on her face. It was then he realized that his hands and feet were both bound by restraints. He let out a scoff as he glared at the Earthling that _dared_ to restrain him. "Do you _think_ that restraints will prevent me from escaping? I have conquered planets filled with inhabitants that were _much_ more powerful than yours with my bare hands."

"I might not be able to, but the people who defeated you will," The girl replied smartly as she moved aside for Vegeta to see the other people in the room. He was displeased to see Kakarrot, his son, and the Namekian standing behind the girl.

Kakarrot walked up next to the restrained Saiyan and smiled. "How are you feeling Vegeta? You've been out for a week, so you're probably feeling a bit week right now."

Vegeta replied with his teeth clenched. "A week? You've kept me unconscious for a _week_? You will _pay_ once these restraints are removed, you _peasant scum_."

The carefree Saiyan gave the prince a grin as he grabbed something that was on the table out of Vegeta's sight and placed it on the prince's face. Vegeta instantly recognized the design and shape of the object. It was the scouter that he had brought to Earth. "This is your scouter. We managed to retrieve after your fight against us and fixed it up. We haven't messed with it or anything, so it should display the right numbers."

Backing up, Kakarrot backed up away from the bed in which Vegeta lied on. As soon as he managed to place a good distance between himself and Vegeta, the Earth raised Saiyan powered himself up with _ki_.

Even Vegeta couldn't believe his eyes as the numbers on his scouter kept on increasing.

10,000... 20,000... 30,000... 40,000... 50,000...

As soon as the scouter hit 50,000, it exploded with a small cloud of smoke and sparks. Vegeta stared at his rival with fury and horror. The power level of his opponent was _far beyond_ he had ever imagined. Within a span of a week, he had increased it several times. A part of him wanted to deny that Kakarrot was indeed more powerful than him. After all, the scouter could've been easily adjusted and this could've been just an act of manipulation to make him afraid and confused. But his rational side knew that Kakarrot was _somehow_ much more powerful than him. In fact, Kakarrot was much above him in terms of power.

"How... How did you get so powerful so fast?" Vegeta stammered as he looked at Kakarrot in shock.

"That is a secret I can't share. But I can guarantee you right now that Gohan and Piccolo are both stronger than you. They're a bit weaker than me, but they're definitely strong too." Kakarrot replied as he powered down.

On cue, the Namek and the little boy powered up, with energy levels similar to that of the only other full blooded Saiyan. Vegeta realized that his hands were trembling and immediately clamped them into fists. "So you've come to kill me while you're much stronger and I'm weak and restrained? If you are, do it quickly. I don't want to see your _disgusting_ face more than I have to."

Kakarrot shook his head in disapproval. "Come on Vegeta! Don't be like that. We're not here to kill you. In fact, we're here to offer you a deal."

Vegeta fought against his restraints again as he yelled at his opposite. "I do not _care_ for your deals! Do you think because you're in a place of power, you'll be able to _dictate_ your terms on me? I am the _prince_ of all Saiyans!"

"I know, I know... Prince of All Saiyans, Destroyers of Worlds. Great. I'm going to offer you a deal and if you choose not to take it, we'll let you go in your little spaceship and go wherever you were before. As long as you stay away from Earth, that is."

"I'll gladly take that offer _right now_. I do not want to see _you_ or this _treacherous_ mudball of a planet ever again." Vegeta shook with anger physically, but on the inside, he smiled in amusement at the other Saiyan's naivety. If he were to actually escape and return to Frieza, he would make sure to grow _much_ stronger and destroy the despicable Earth raised Saiyan's grin and his planet.

The free Saiyan walked next to the restrained Saiyan and calmly clenched his shoulder. "Woah there Vegeta. You haven't even heard the offer! It might actually benefit you in a lot of ways if you just hear me out."

Despite his desire to escape Earth and destroy Goku, the prince of Saiyans managed to calm himself enough to look at Kakarrot without shaking in anger. "Fine! What is your blasted offer?"

Kakarrot smiled cheerfully as he explained his offer. "You'll come with me, Gohan, and Piccolo to the planet of Namek to help recover the Dragon Balls. You know more about outer space and Namek then we probably do. We could also use a strong fighter to come with us in case something goes wrong. In exchange for helping us find the Dragon Balls and information, we'll send you on your way to wherever you want and help you train to become stronger."

Silence prevailed in the room as Vegeta's heavy breathing echoed against the walls. "You're going to Namek to search for the Dragon Balls?"

"Is there something wrong with that idea?" Kakarrot questioned as the prince laughed.

"Fool! Since I failed to retrieve the Dragon Balls here, there is no doubt that Frieza and his men are heading to Namek in order to retrieve the Dragon Balls! Since Earth and Namek are the only planets to have them, it only makes sense for Frieza to head towards Namek since I haven't communicated with him in over a week! If you think you can take the Dragon Balls away from _Frieza_ , the strongest being in the universe, then, by all means, go ahead. I'll come along to spectate your death."

"So that's a yes?" The naive Saiyan asked once again.

Vegeta stared at the other Saiyan as if he had a hole in his forehead. "Do you not understand? Frieza is capable of destroying entire _planets_ with a mere wave of a hand. His power level is dozens, if not hundreds, times of mine! You won't be able to stand your ground in a battle against him! He'll merely destroy you as if you were a mere rock in his way!"

Kakarrot rose to full height and peered towards the walls as if he could see Frieza millions of light years away. "If he's a strong opponent, I'll train harder to take him down. I need those Dragon Balls for my friends and if I'll have to risk my life to do it, I'll do it."

"You're delusional. You can never defeat Frieza even if you trained for thousands of years." Vegeta scoffed.

"That's what people said when I faced Piccolo and you, but I still defeated them in the end," Kakarrot replied immediately.

If the Saiyan prince could shoot lasers from his eyes, he would've done so. "Your friend Piccolo and I are mere _ants_ compared to Frieza's powers. He is _completely_ out of our league. He could destroy any planet he desires and there is no doubt he'll destroy Namek and all its inhabitants if they get in his way. As I said before, _you can not defeat him_."

This remark seemed to only embolden Kakarrot further. "Then I _will_ fight him and defeat him. I might not be strong enough now, but I'll train harder than ever! Though if I'm going to fight him, then I want a strong fighter like you by my side. So will you train and come with us to Namek or not?"

Vegeta was about to snort again when he looked at the fire in Kakarrot's eyes. He had only seen that fire once before in his father's eyes as Frieza took Vegeta away from his home planet.

 _I will not let you take my son without a fight!_

His father had been defeated of course and was forced to watch his son whisked away, but he still had the fire in his eyes as he looked at his son one last time. That fire was the same fire that lit Kakarrot's eyes.

It was a fire of desire. A fire to grow stronger and overcome anyone. The same fire that fueled his father was now glowing inside of the lower-class Saiyan. Even at that moment, Vegeta could feel the power level of Goku climb steadily higher.

Instead of scoffing or trying to reason with the Earth raised Saiyan, the Saiyan prince glared at his counterpart. "Fine! I will join you on your foolish journey to Namek and even join in on your training. However, don't claim that I didn't warn you multiple times when you die by Frieza's hands."

Kakarrot lit up at Vegeta's proclamation. "You mean, you'll go with us willingly?"

"I have realized that you Earthlings have much more to offer than your Dragon Balls. I will train and accompany you on your travels, but do not expect me to linger any time longer after you completed your task."

"Great! We'll set off in a week. In the meantime, we can train in the new Gravity Room that's being built within the spaceship!" Kakarrot pumped his fists and ran out the room filled with happiness.

The Namek let out another wave of _ki_ and glared at the Saiyan prince before exiting the room. Kakarrot's brat didn't leave and stood in front of the door as if he was guarding the outside world against the Saiyan warrior.

Vegeta knew resistance against Frieza was futile, yet had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach that Kakarrot could _somehow_ pull it off. He knew that training with his enemy would help him build up his power. If the Earth raised Saiyan had managed to multiply his power levels within a span of a week, surely _the prince_ could also. And perhaps Kakarrot could finally help him become stronger than Frieza.

Little did Vegeta know at that moment, his eyes flared with the same fire that Kakarrot and his father had.

He now had a goal, a tangible one, and a desire. A desire to defeat Kakarrot and _nothing_ would stand in his ways.

* * *

Gohan knew the prince was evil. He could feel it in his bones.

The young adult that occupied a boy's body slammed his fist into a punching bag. He was at the private Capsule Corps gym that was within the large domed house. Due to his father's insistence, he had left Vegeta to Bulma's care and went to the gym to due to his daily routine of workouts.

No matter what his father said about the Saiyan prince, the half-Saiyan could _literally_ sense evil within the man's mind. If Vegeta had been born on his old Earth, he would've been a brutal and ruthless dictator that would have ruled with an iron fist.

He didn't understand how his father, as innocent as he was, would believe that the very man who killed his wife could be redeemed. But then again, his mentor Piccolo was apparently evil before "befriending" the others. If Piccolo himself hadn't told the young boy of his past, he would've never believed it. His teacher was strict, and sometimes even cruel, but he wasn't evil. Gohan understood that the Namek always sought to improve his skills and toughen him up. He never believed for a second that his teacher was evil, or even had evil intentions.

Vegeta was different, in Gohan's opinion. He wasn't a lost alien that was sent to Earth because his home planet was nearly destroyed. The Saiyan from outer space came to Earth with killing intent and killed _thousands_ of innocents, along with several of the other Z-Fighters. Only Gohan's discipline stopped his body from slamming a fist into the older man's jaw. He didn't deserve redemption, even if he _could_ be redeemed. Yet, the advice and warning Hikari gave him echoed through his mind when he was full of killing intent.

 _Do what is right_.

With a small sigh, Gohan stopped punishing the poor punching bag that was severely battered from the boy's punches. Instead, he stepped out into the empty backyard for training. The other Z-Fighters were within the house to help prepare for the journey and allowed him to do his own thing. Gohan placed a finger on his forehead and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he came face to face with his clone, which jumped on top of him and hugged him furiously. " _Niisan!_ How are you feeling?"

Despite his conflicted feelings, Gohan managed to put up a small smile as he hugged the real Gohan back. "I'm feeling fine, Gohan. Thank you."

"That's good! It's sorta weird because I can hear all your thoughts, but I can't hear them when I'm in this clone body." Clone Gohan replied as he detached from Gohan and placed his hands on his hips. "You _really_ want to fight Vegeta-san, don't you?"

There was no use lying to the young boy and Hiro knew that. "I do. He killed our mother and nearly destroyed an entire city. In my mind, I don't want him to be redeemed so I can beat him up and take revenge."

The real Gohan pouted. "I know how you feel, _niisan_. All your feelings and thoughts also come to me, so I can feel a lot of your feelings myself. I'm angry that mommy died too, but if we kill Vegeta, how are we different from the bad guys?"

Hiro thought for a moment and let Gohan's words run through his mind. "But Vegeta _is_ a bad guy."

"Even so! We're the good guys, so we should be different. We shouldn't just kill bad guys, but turn them into good guys like daddy did to Piccolo!" Gohan said as he easily did a backflip and flew into the air, enjoying himself while he still had a body.

In a moment of clarity, the adult that occupied Gohan's body realized that there was merit to what the real Gohan was saying. If Hikari was in front of him, those would've been the words he would've said, albeit phrased a bit differently. _There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness._

Breathing in calmly, the "original" Gohan faced his mirror image and squeezed his shoulder. "Thank you, Gohan. I think my mind is a bit clearer than before."

"Then can we spar? I want to try some of the new tricks you learned too!" Gohan eagerly said as he immediately went into a fighting stance.

"Of course, but don't expect me to go easy on you." Original Gohan said with a grin as he immediately ran towards his counterpart and clashed.

* * *

"Hello, Hiro."

Gohan, or Hiro who occupied Gohan's body, opened his eyes to see darkness around him. His eyes scanned his surroundings, but it was as if he was dropped into a very deep and dark hole with no light visible. He felt a hand brush his shoulders and the young half-Saiyan immediately flinched and flew into the air.

"Who are you?" Gohan cried out as he swept his arms blindly into the air. "What do you want?"

The voice appeared behind him and chuckled silently. "You won't be able to strike me or hurt me in any way, child. I am everywhere. I am the _darkness_ around you."

Confused, Gohan immediately stopped lashing at the air and surveyed the area once again. "What do you mean?"

"You have already met my brother, Hikari. That despicable fool thinks that I won't do anything while he meddles with the world we _both_ created. I have merely summoned you here to give you a warning."

"You're the brother of Hikari?" Gohan asked. _But Hikari radiates with good and light! This "brother" of his is just filled with darkness..._

Hikari's brother laughed as if he could read Gohan's thoughts. "Yes, my brother is the "good" child. The being that overwatches the world with good intentions. He is the "light." For every good, there must be an evil to counter it. I am that evil. The darkness to his light. The evil to his good. The Yin to his Yang. I am Daku, the evil being that lurks in the darkness and counterbalances the good of the universe."

Gohan clenched his fist firmly as he activated his _ki_. "What do you want from me?"

"As I said earlier, I'm here to give you a small warning," Daku stated calmly somewhere in the distance. "Since my brother had decided to _break_ the pact we swore to abide by when we created the universe, it is only fair that I also break the pact."

"What is this pact?" Gohan questioned as he listened intently for the location of the voice.

Daku's voice was nearby as he answered the question. "To keep the universes separate and not allow them to merge. However, with your presence in _this_ world, the destiny and future of the universe you were brought to have been thrown into a loop. Even I can not properly predict what will happen in the future. Because my foolish brother decided to _hamper_ with the universes and break his pact, I will make sure that I reply the same way. Your enemies will be stronger, your opponents will be many, and those who are close to you will be forever in danger. You might be able to defeat those that oppose you, but the threat of your opposition will never waver. The Earth you've been sworn to protect will always be in danger."

"I will not let Earth fall without a fight." The half-Saiyan boldly claimed through his gritted teeth. He was concentrating intently, but as soon as Daku's voice appeared nearby, he seemingly teleported far away right before Gohan could strike.

Daku chuckled again. "Perhaps or perhaps not. I would rather see you battered down slowly instead of sending thousands of powerful warriors to annihilate your planet. Destroying you swiftly would only enrage my brother and make him act even more irrationally. I will make sure to make your walk in life _much_ more difficult. Your mother is already dead, isn't she? She will not be the last. Your close ones will be the ones that will suffer the most, and then yourself. Tell this to my brother, if you desire. But if you and your _friends_ do not prepare yourselves, you will be facing a future worse than death."

Furious, Gohan launched a massive _Masenko_ attack at the supposed location of Daku. After traveling a few feet, the Masenko attack was easily deflected by an unseen force. "Foolish child. I am a _being above Gods_. Your puny attacks have no effect on me. Perhaps one day, you can challenge me and my brother, but until then, you will face the most powerful warriors and then your greatest opponent."

"The greatest opponent?"

The being of darkness materialized in front of Gohan and stabbed his chest. "Yourself."

Gohan blacked out completely and woke up in the guest room of the Capsule Corps. His hand rubbed the place in the chest where he was stabbed.

 _Your close ones will be the ones that will suffer the most, and then yourself_ _._

He got up and went out to train. He had to get stronger. Not for himself, but for Earth and everyone around him.

* * *

 **A week later...**

The Z-Fighters all gathered around the Namekian spacecraft as they prepared for the long journey ahead. Goku was eating a quick snack (which, to most of the others except Vegeta and Gohan, was a large feast that could feed a family) while Piccolo and Gohan meditated silently in the corner of the garage. Yamcha and Tenshinhan were both assisting Bulma on loading up several more bags filled with basic necessities while Vegeta was inspecting the ship with a careful eye. Nearby, Dr. Briefs was placing the final touches on the ship, complete with a new paint job that made the spaceship silver and a _very_ sophisticated speaker system.

Even while he was meditating, Gohan kept a careful eye on the Saiyan prince. He could feel that the Saiyan prince's power level was higher than before, but it was still well below Gohan's, Goku's and Piccolo's levels. However, the last thing the group needed was for the humanoid alien to go berserk and destroy the only spaceship capable of delivering the warriors to Namek under a thousand years.

"This ship is not as grand or as powerful as the ones that Frieza has, but it will do," Vegeta said flatly as he finally stopped looking at the ship. "Kakarrot! Stop eating and let us hurry on our way to Namek! The more time we waste here on this dustball, the more time we give Frieza and his men to locate the Dragon Balls!"

 _Frieza_. Gohan had heard the name at least a hundred times from Vegeta over a span of a week. Each time he heard it, he wondered just how _powerful_ Frieza was. Vegeta didn't seem to fear him, but Gohan could feel hatred and anger every time the Saiyan prince repeated the name. There was a hint of nervousness also, a subtle and underlying emotion that was blanketed by the hatred and anger. Watching the alien made Gohan realize that if Frieza managed to make the man a _bit_ nervous, then Frieza would be a powerful opponent. After all, Vegeta had faced his father and was barely fazed when he was defeated.

Bulma slapped the Saiyan prince's head. "Let him enjoy himself before he's sent off into space. We couldn't pack tons of food for all of you, so you'll have to limit the amount of food you eat per meal. Otherwise, you'll be starving _before_ you arrive on Namek."

"Don't you dare touch me, _girl_!" Vegeta screamed as he reacted right away and maneuvered himself to strike the blue haired girl. Before anyone else could react, Gohan was in between Bulma and Vegeta, stopping the Saiyan's strike.

"She has a name, you know. And she cared for you while you were unconscious while no one else would. So show a bit more respect," Gohan cooly stated as Vegeta sent a menacing glare to the young boy.

The Saiyan prince fumed but backed up. "Damn you, Kakarrot's brat."

"If you want to beat this Frieza person or whatever, you'll need our help. I wouldn't push my luck any further if I were you."

The air was tense as both warriors stared at each other in the eye. Finally, Vegeta broke off the gaze and stormed out of the garage. Gohan relaxed as he realized his fingernails were digging into the palm of his hands. Bulma strutted up towards Gohan and patted his head. "Thank you, Gohan."

Gohan shook his head. "It's not problem Bulma. That _prince_ is _way_ too cocky and uppity for his own good."

"Are you sure you won't try to kill him in the spaceship? It'll be hard to fix the ship if you decide to destroy it in space." Bulma asked, worriedly glancing at the spaceship.

Gohan gave the girl a reassuring smile. "I won't, don't worry. I'll make sure he takes his anger out in the Gravity Room."

Bulma nodded and went over to her father to help him work on the ship. Gohan re-joined his place in the corner with his mentor as they silently meditated once more.

After several hours, Bulma and Dr. Briefs finally called everyone over towards the ship. "Everything should be ready. All you have to do is go inside and turn on the computer and it'll immediately go towards Namek. The trip will take three weeks, as I said before. Remember not to damage it because I'm sure that _none_ of you know how to fix a spaceship."

The more naive and carefree Saiyan nodded his head excitedly. "Great! So can we go now?"

"Not so fast Goku!" Bulma scolded. "You'll have to bring Vegeta back before we leave. Since all you've been doing is eating, you should go get him."

"Wait, that's not fair! Gohan and Piccolo had been doing nothing too!"

The blue haired girl rolled her eyes. "At least they were being quiet while you were loudly pigging out on food."

Goku's shoulders slumped as he exited the garage with a defeated look on his face. "Fine..."

Within a minute, Goku came back to the group while dragging Vegeta behind him. The Saiyan prince looked a bit calmer than before, but only because he was unloading his anger on his Saiyan counterpart. "Let go of me, you lower-class trash!"

The Saiyan let the prince free himself from his grip and trotted over to Bulma, giving the girl a bone crushing hug. "Now we can go, right! Everyone is here!"

Bulma sighed and shook her head, but a smile plastered his lips. "Yes, but do be careful. That goes for all of you. I better see all four of you return to Earth in one piece, and that spaceship better be in one piece too!"

Goku eagerly stepped onto the metal plate that would elevate him and the others into the spaceship. Gohan and Piccolo took their time to frustrate the excited Saiyan while Vegeta followed behind the teacher and student duo slowly. When all four of them were on the metal plate, Bulma gave them one last hug before stepping back. "The word to open and close the ship is our green friend's name. I couldn't manage to overwrite the password for the door for some reason, but the navigation system and the computer should be in our language. Just tell it to take off to Namek and it'll immediately shoot towards the planet. Good luck!"

"Piccolo!" Goku shouted as the metal plate hovered and floated upwards into the ship. The four warriors caught one last glimpse of their friends before entering the spaceship. They were immediately brought into the navigation room, with various computers and screens flashing with different words and numbers. Before anyone could stop Goku, the overenergetic man sat in the command seat. "Alright, ship! Let's go to Namek!"

The ship immediately lurched off the ground and shot out of the garage at jaw-dropping speed. Within seconds, the ship was exiting Earth's atmosphere and was heading towards the planet of the creators of the Dragon Balls. Stars and planets shot by quickly as Gohan enjoyed the view of outer space that was present outside the window.

When he turned, he found that all but his mentor had left the control room. Piccolo smirked at the boy's confusion. " _His Highness_ has decided to hit the Gravity Room for training along with your father. We should join them _after_ they train. The last thing we need is four high-powered warriors fighting each other in the Gravity Room."

Gohan silently agreed and enjoyed the view as long as he could.

* * *

 **As the weeks flew by...**

Despite being stuck on a spaceship light years away from Earth with three other super powered individuals, life on the spaceship had been quite... peaceful for Gohan. In fact, life on the spaceship felt almost the same as life on Earth.

The young boy would wake up early every morning, using his alarm clock that was modified for Earth's time, and carried out his usual training routine of running, mainly around the entirety of the ship dozens of times, and practicing _katas_. The ship had many useful rooms, such as the Gravity Room and a sparring room made of some of the strongest metals found on Earth. He used all these rooms daily in order to train every aspect of his body. After scarfing down a large breakfast, Gohan entered the Gravity Room for several hours. He found the Gravity Room to be a huge blessing, as it allowed him to grow physically stronger rapidly and also boosted his _ki_ levels. The first day he entered the room, he changed the gravity to be ten times of Earth. Bulma had told the group that the Gravity Room could go up to two hundred times the gravity of Earth, but Gohan knew that he had to start low. He was shocked to discover that his father also had difficulties in ten times the gravity and trained together with him in the room by lightly sparring and running. Gohan increased the amount of gravity by ten each day, with his end goal being able to withstand two hundred times gravity by the end of the trip. He had managed to pull it off through sheer willpower and effort, as he was motivated that his father and even Vegeta also managed to survive under the pressure.

After working on the Gravity Room, he would be personally taught by either his father or Piccolo in the sparring room. The two had agreed to alternate days of their training and the two put great effort in training Gohan as if they were trying to prove who the better teacher was. His father taught him to use his strength in close combat and strengthening his _ki_ powers. On the contrary, Piccolo mainly focused on utilizing speed and agility, while also adding in various tactics and feints to add variety and a hint of randomness to his attacks. The young half-Saiyan found both of the teachers to be incredibly useful, as he managed to utilize every ounce of his muscle in his physical attacks while also tactfully calculating every move and using superior speed to land rapid and hard blows on his enemies. His _ki_ attacks saw tremendous improvement, as he added the fearsome _Kamehameha_ attack (much to Piccolo's chagrin) and the _Kaioken_ into his arsenal. Usually, he was exhausted after continuous hours of training, but after lunch, he had enough energy to lightly spar with his clone, who had also learned all the things the original learned and improved on his weaknesses.

Gohan knew that he placed a huge strain on his body training so intensely every day, so after sparring with his clone, he spent most of his time in the afternoon and evening in his room meditating and studying. He found meditating extremely useful in maintaining his focus and soothing his battered mind and body after a hard day of training. He usually meditated for an hour and then studied for an hour. Bulma had packed, to his surprise, a variety of complicated textbooks on dozens of subjects such as chemistry, biology, math, astronomy, languages, and history. In his previous life, he had always been a studious student and that hadn't changed here. Gohan was quickly sucked into the textbooks and refreshed his memories, as he had already learned much about the contents of the textbook before. However, the history book fascinated him completely, as this Earth's history was completely different from his own. He was immediately drawn into the book and made note of all the important events that occurred in this new world.

Occasionally, Piccolo walked into his room and either meditated with him or tutored him. Despite being a Namekian, Piccolo had grown up on Earth for years and knew much about science and history. He was quite impressed with his student's work and even complimented him every once in a while, though it usually came out as an insult. Piccolo was the only one who knew the truth of Gohan's identity and viewed his student as one of the few people he could ever trust. And in return, Gohan respected and trusted his teacher completely also.

Studying drained Gohan just as much as training, and he would usually step into the kitchen to make himself dinner in order to rest his head and replenish himself. Usually, he ate with Goku and Piccolo, but he slowly became more accustomed to the fact that the Saiyan prince was also present on the ship and ate food around the same time he did. Initially, the Saiyan prince blew him away, calling him "Kakarrot's brat" or some other offensive names. However, once it became clear that Piccolo and even Goku wouldn't really talk to him, Vegeta reluctantly talked with the young Saiyan.

Even though he had an impulse to punch the Saiyan prince every time the young boy saw him, Gohan found Vegeta to be surprisingly different than he thought the Saiyan prince would be. When he talked to Vegeta, he sounded almost rational and actually looked calm instead of looking like he wanted to kill someone (unless his father or Piccolo walked into the room). Vegeta would mention bits and pieces of his conquests of other planets and his home planet Vegeta. Gohan found his stories quite interesting and listened intently. It was through these small conversations that Gohan developed a bit of respect for the Saiyan prince. Perhaps the Saiyan prince wasn't _quite_ as evil he thought he would be. He only hoped that his father was right.

It was during one of these small talks with Vegeta when Goku rushed into the kitchen and approached them instead of the refrigerator and cabinets. Gohan knew there was something serious happening because his father _never_ came into the kitchen unless it was for food. "We're almost at Namek! Get ready to land, because we're finally here!"

Gohan let out a small sigh of relief. He had half expected his father to destroy the Gravity Room or blow up the computers by accident, but the journey had been quite enriching for him and the others. He was confident now that he could defeat any enemies he faced along with his comrades, as their power levels had risen considerably since their departure from Earth.

As the computer announced that the spaceship had landed on Namek, Gohan ran towards the exit and landed on the rocky grounds of the planet. He took a deep breath of fresh air and prayed a silent prayer.

He wasn't praying for his own safety, but praying for his enemies. He was going to make sure to collect the Dragon Balls and save his friends while making sure all of his fellow warriors survived. And if anybody stood in his way, no matter who Daku sent his way, would feel the power of Son Gohan.

* * *

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **Trunkssan766:** His power level rose significantly over the course of the story, and it will rise much higher than OC. Thank you for following :)_

 _Feel free to always leave reviews. I'll always get back to you and try to adjust the story if something is wrong or could be improved upon._

 _Power level breakdown (without any anger boosts or Kaioken):_

 _Goku:_ _130,000_

 _Gohan: 75,000 _

_Piccolo:_ _90,000_

 _Vegeta:_ _55,000_


End file.
